


Summoned

by Sereo



Category: Gakuen Mokushiroku | Highschool of the Dead
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-03
Updated: 2020-09-19
Packaged: 2021-03-07 03:14:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 33,508
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26270062
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sereo/pseuds/Sereo
Summary: This is the first thing I'm writing since forever. As for the story, -OC that has seen the anime and is thrown into the hotd world.
Kudos: 6





	1. A sunny day

Some info:

The story will be told from a first-person perspective, the OC's

"This is talking" "Go jump over that fence"

(This is thinking) (I will jump over that fence)

This is narration/action- I Jumped over that fence

-Extra-

I am not aiming with spam post all 41 chapters of the story here in one go. If you want to read on but don't want to wait. Here you go. https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13393132/1/Summoned

I am probably going to post the 10 or so first chapters though. The ones that I have tested out with the Beta that is helping me.

Thank you

So, where was I…

Oh right

Yet another sunny day. Then again, most days are sunny here in Japan... It has been about 3 weeks since I 'arrived' here, and I still had a hard time coming to terms with it to be honest.

Right now I was sitting at my school desk, which was located at the back corner of the class. And while the class was still in session, I was just staring outside. Towards the school's gate.

...I have always been fascinated by this country.

I grew up watching animated shows that were created in Japan, and it didn't take long before I started playing video games as well. I've actually lost track of how many hours I spent on both. Hell, even my initial understanding of Japanese came from these sources of entertainment, and let me tell you… right now, it all feels… like total… bullshit.

While I was in my own head, the sound of bells echoed throughout the school, signaling the end of class. I snapped out of my inner thoughts and started to pick up my stuff, only to see the teacher gesturing for me to go to him.

( Ughh… good job me, that's what you get for not paying attention to the class like an idiot in plain sight. )

"Naier Sepfier?" The middle-aged teacher, who's frown seemed to be a permanent addition to his face stared at me. His eyes pretty much telling me that he would rather be at his local cafe playing mahjong rather than waste his time on me.

"Yes, sir" I answered back.

"I know that you came here as an exchange student, and adjusting to a new foreign environment can take time. But it has been three weeks, and I would prefer if you actually started paying some attention to the classes you are supposed to be present at Sepfier."

He said as his eyes practically drilled holes into me. I guess to him, not paying attention in his class equals to me not respecting his authority. Not that I'm surprised though, some teachers can be like that.

"Yes, of course. I'm sorry teacher, it will not happen again" I answered, trying to sound as sincere as I can.

"...Good, you may go now" Seemingly appeased with my answer, the teacher returns to his papers and signals me with his hand to leave.

With that confrontation finished, I picked my bag from my desk and started heading outside.

(While I really don't give much of a damn about his ramblings, it's not because I have something personal against him. It's simply because soon, none of this crap will really matter…)

I close the class door behind me and start heading towards the school gym.

(The lunch break should last about 40 minutes… it should give me enough time.)

Looking at the watch in my phone I nod to myself and start heading towards the stairs.

(For the last month since arriving at… let's just call this place Japan for now. I have been pushing myself non-stop. From physical training like running, sprinting, parkour and endurance tests, to looking up guides on how to use tools and weapons. Hell, I even took classes in armed self-defense and went to the gun range, multiple times a day too.

Not a very easy thing to do considering I'm still a high-schooler, aka under-aged. Meaning, I had to go the extra mile just to get permission to even be allowed to enter the gun range. All of that, because… I was scared shitless… still am now that i think about it.

As one might expect, these things cost money, and they cost a lot.

While not really official yet, I was actually in pretty heavy debt. I had already reached the limit on the credit card that was given to me, and also sold everything inside my house in order to finance my… madness.

I was betting on the fact that very soon, the debt will no longer matter… because otherwise. well, I just dug myself into a pretty deep fucking hole.)

While walking down the stairs my thoughts were interrupted as I saw a student leaning against the railing, his face having the words *dejection* written all over it.

(And then, there's this guy, in the same spot since the first day I 'arrived', still with the same depressed attitude. Truth be told though, I had reasons to cringe seeing that guy. The first one being, that for all his depression, this guy is actually what you might call 'The very lucky one' and now that I was 'here' in the flesh, I was actually pretty jealous of him.

The second reason though, oh the second reason made my stomach tie up into knots till I wanted to throw up, the reason was simple really.

I knew the guy, without actually 'knowing' him, and not in a stalker-ish kind of fashion. I don't swing that way.

The student in front of me is Takashi Komuro and his existence 'here' verified that things will soon go bad… very… VERY BAD.)

It also verified that normally speaking, I should NOT be here.

I slowly walk up to Takashi after descending the stairs.

(I was never good at socializing… but well… fuck it. Time to creep out the dejected dude, this needs to happen.)

I clear my throat slightly before speaking up.

"Excuse me?"

(I am far more nervous than I'd thought I'd be, am I really that bad at striking up conversations with strangers?)

Takashi seems to react to my voice and turns his head to me, one eyebrow raised in question while staring at my face with an odd expression.

"What, who are you?" He asks.

"Naier Sepfier, I'm a transfer student. Look, I didn't mean to bother you, but ever since I arrived here I keep seeing you on the same spot every day with a dejected look on your face… you ok?"

I fold my arms while finishing my sentence (yu-ok? Really? Is that the best I could come up with?)

The guy just… stares at me… I don't know if he is surprised or just plain annoyed.

" I've been better… why do you care though?"

He turns his back to me and stares away towards the school's field.

" Well like I just said. I kept seeing you here looking like you are about to jump off. I was curious" I came up for a reason on the spot as he kept staring away from me.

(Well shit, I can't tell him. Hur-Dur me know stuff. Plus he doesn't seem to be in a talking mood anyway.)

"Huhhh… well, if you don't want to talk, my bad. Didn't mean to bother you… I'll get out of your space… just don't go off doing something stupid all right, no shit mode last forever."

I raised both my arms as I turned around.

(Yea… stuff can always get worse, much… much worse. For the rest of the world at least)

I started walking away from Takashi, and the only thing I heard from him was a sigh. I leave the guy to his vices and head down towards my initial destination, the gym…

A couple of minutes later I was there, with the only person inside being me.

(No surprise there, that's why I decided to come here in the first place, most people are probably eating or relaxing right now… Well whatever, got my spare shirt in my bag so. It is time to run some laps.)

And with that I started to jog, lapping around the gym's track. As I kept running around the gym track, I tried to empty my mind so I could focus… Yet all it took for my focus to get messed up, was for me to look up and see the school's banner.

(Fujimi Academy… )

"Why the hell am I even here?" I curse under my breath. That, was all it took for my mind to start wandering again. I then stop running and start massaging my head with one hand.

"I need to collect my thoughts here… I'm running short on time… and I need to make the best of it while I can. Focus goddamn it"

(My name is Naier Sepfier, I'm 17 years old, and I am an exchange student from Europe. I can speak both English and Japanese. Why did I say Europe and not an actual country? It's because it doesn't matter right now, what matters is where I'm at. Fujimi Academy, in Japan.

With three days left before the biggest pile of shit ever seen by humanity hits the fan, and what do I mean by shit? Well I'm talking about the god-damn end of the world via an express zombie apocalypse.

As to why I know all this crap? It's because I've seen it… and not in any future vision type of bullshit. I have seen it… in a god-damn anime. Hehh… Yea, even when I'm telling to myself it sounds ridiculous

If somebody had told me that I would be waking up in a damn anime, I would have kindly asked them to be in one where perma-death and flesh-eating corpses are banned…

And speaking of Death. I have been thinking about this since I arrived here. As to why am I here. I mean, this is definitely NOT normal. So, what? I died? And now I am here because... I don't know, Illuminati and rainbow puking unicorns. I mean I KNOW who I am, I still have the memory of my 'past' life, that is the reason why I know what is supposed to happen in the first place.

And among other things, I also remember when I started my mandatory army training because my country is moronic, or when I got my first video game system. Though there are some things that I have forgotten, like my old native language for example.

But, I also know who I am now or… who I was 'here'. It feels more like switching a hard drive in my head, with each drive storing a different past)

"Ughhhh… there is no point thinking about this now, I need to focus on what is to come and be as prepared as I can be. Luckily for me, there's a silver lining."

(The body I woke up with is not the one I remember having… I would be dead and doomed if it was. While I was no Kohta, I definitely was not as athletic as I'd prefer for a zombie apocalypse.

This body on the other hand was above average to say the least and this last month I literally pushed it as hard as I could.

And it was paying off, I was getting faster, my reflexes were quicker, my punches carried a good amount of force and I could go on for quite a while without running out of breath. Physically I felt prepared.

Mentally on the other hand… I was a roller coaster of wrecking balls…

I was not actually a hundred percent sure what would happen when day-z arrived. If the whole thing won't happen, then I will be chased down by debt collectors... Or worse, if the zombie apocalypse does happen and I get stranded all by myself.

No matter how strong I become I cannot survive alone. This fact leads me to what really kept me up at night.

The story followed Takashi and his team. So I 'know' only what will happen to them. That means, to have any chance in actually using the knowledge I have. I need to join Takashi's team.)

"Also add the fact that I really don't want to end up all alone or tread in the dark in the middle of a god-damn zombie apocalypse."

And well, I'm gonna be honest with myself here…

( Takashi is a cool dude and all. But if he is going with a trio harem again, I might wind up trying to go all commander cockblock on his face. Yes, I'm salty, if he likes Rei so much to be depressed over it for this long, then he can keep it in his pants, thank you very much… I am actually feeling bad about Kohta now, knowing what he had to deal with, with him having a crush on Saya and all.)

"Ok… I have relaxed enough…. Now focus, keep jogging. I will worry about Takashi and his group when I get to them… Because first I need to actually get to them… If I keep freaking myself out every time I try to think about it, I'm gonna be the first one to kick the bucket too."

I pump myself up and start running again. I know better than anybody after all, that soon, everybody will be running with me.


	2. Decisions

3 days until Z-day.

The room was dimly lit, the furniture that used to decorate it gone, sold off. With the exception of a normal bed and a desk with a computer and a printer. Other than that, the room was empty.

"Maybe selling the fridge so early was not my smartest idea." I say to myself while looking at what used to be a kitchen. Both the fridge and the stove were missing and fast food packages littered the kitchen counters.

"If the landlord sees this, he is going to shoot me in the face with a rocket launcher. Thankfully, he should not return until the end of this month and the world should go to shit before then, so I'll probably get away with selling off everything in here."

While I felt like shit for stealing from the landlord, as the furniture did not belong to me. I had already decided that I would use everything I could to make sure that I was prepared for the upcoming panic.

After surveying the empty room, I turned my head back to the computer screen, the words *the thinnest part of the skull* typed in the search bar.

"Pterion… so hitting, or better yet, stabbing sideways is the best way to directly deal damage to the brain after all. Come to think of it, I wonder if the reanimated dead have a fragile skull, or Takashi and his group can swing stuff around with the force of a truck. Because, if I remember correctly, they were cracking skulls open from every direction possible. Yea, I hope it's the first one or I am o-so screwed"

Next to the computer laid several stacks of printed papers. From manuals on how to use and maintain several guns, including the ones that I know Takashi's team will find later, manuals for cleaning blades, and 'how to' guides for silent running. Things that could help me survive a jam.

There was also a locked credit card and a small notebook on the desk.

"While I don't intend to pack anything on me, I better make sure I don't sound like a dinner bell when I have to move. After all, I intend to be the one that 'checks' Saya's theory."

I say to myself while picking up the papers that had methods on how to make your movement silent. From methods of choosing what gear to carry by running in place with whatever you aim to have on you, to using tape on the things you have in your pockets and how to stop your shoes from squeaking.

I then place the papers back on the desk and pick one of the gun manuals.

"I can also use these to get closer to Kohta. Having an acquaintance in the group can make quite the difference. Plus it would make it easier for me to explain why I could use the damn things in the first place."

After I spent some time skimming the manual, I lifted my head, only for my eyes to fall to the now useless credit card that was resting on the desk. The credit card that was given to 'me' before arriving in Japan.

"You know if the outbreak doesn't happen, I will have so much to answer for... I don't even know what happened to the past Naier before I became him."

Sick of dealing with the feeling of dissociation, I took my phone out of my pocket and glared at it. Turning the phone around I opened the back cover, removed the battery and took out the SIM card. Finally, I throw the disassembled phone inside the desk drawer.

"But, with three days left, I need a clear head to prepare for what is to come. And God knows I can't keep my mind focused if this thing keeps reminding me that this body is not my own every time it rings. I can't save everybody, hell I don't even know if I can save myself, so I can't afford any distractions."

After agreeing with myself that mopping about what 'was' and what 'is' ain't going to change a thing, I picked up the small notebook and started flipping through it. In it were schedules written with 2 different colors of black and red. The days written in black were the times I went to the shooting-range, with the red ones being days spent on self-defense lessons. Mostly armed ones, as I don't think I wanna punch a zombie in the face thank you very much.

Most of the cash I acquired from my, not so proud actions, was actually spent at the gun range, and I actually had to pass through several of them till I was able to convince one of the range owners to allow me to use the gun range. Of course, the fact that I said I would pay extra probably helped him make his decision.

"I pretty much turned the furniture into bullets if you think about it" I chuckle slightly as I keep flipping through the pages.

The rest of the cash went to food and driving lessons, as neither me, nor the old me knew how to drive.

(Was Japan's minimum legal age for driving always 18? I mean, I did have to jump through some hoops on that part too as I'm supposed to be 17...)

Normally, I would totally be lost if I were to be put behind the wheel, be it car or bike. And once again, I had to pay quite the "extra fee" just to get the teacher to agree to teach me.

(I guess with enough cash an underage person can get behind the wheel as well as behind a gun. Well, it's not like I'm going to need a license for either of those in the future, so the knowledge is all i really need. Also knowing how to drive and use a gun would probably be helpful even if the outbreak doesn't happen. Ughh...great, now I'm thinking like a frigging fugitive.)

I also thought about buying bite-resistant underclothes too, but I would have one hell of a time trying to explain why I was wearing that stuff in school.

Same goes for bringing any weapons. Even if I could manage to find a blade that was long enough for me to not risk shoving my hand into a zombie's mouth, I could not think of a good reason as to why I had such a thing with me in the first place. Best I could do for my equipment was to gear up along with the rest, or help them gear up faster.

I looked over at the calendar on my PC screen. With only 3 days left before "all you can eat day", I decided that it was time for me to check where the school stores its sporting goods, and to make my "accidental" contact with Kohta.

But first, I'm going to go outside to get some fresh air and buy something to eat for tomorrow morning, then go to sleep. But mostly to get some air as this whole thing was making me feel sick with anxiety, i needed to move, get out of this room...

2 days until Z-day

*Annoying alarm noises*

The alarm on my phone goes off, signaling me that it is time to get off my ass and get ready for school. Slowly, I got up to a sitting position and shut the annoying phone down. After that, I just stared at the wall in front of me for a while.

"I sorta expected to have a nightmare again, I guess I must have gotten thick-skinned"

I look to my right seeing the desk with all the papers.

"Right...Kohta-papers-guns-meeting"

I get up from the bed and head to the bathroom to wash up. Funny as it may sound, the bathroom was the only place I decided to not touch. Nothing was missing in there.

I quickly shake off any sleepiness I had with a couple of cold water splashes to my face. With that done, I grabbed the packaged food I bought last night and started preparing for school.

(So much junk food can't be good for me...)

I head towards my desk with the bun in my mouth, picking up a stack of papers that had a Mossberg 500 Cruiser Pump Action Shotgun printed on the front page.

That should get Kohta's attention so I can strike up a conversation with him. Wish I had a stapler to keep the papers together though.

I shove the papers in my bag that was sitting next to the desk and prepare to leave. Opening the front door, I am greeted with another sunny day... The calm before the storm as they say, I turn my head back to my apartment and look inside.

"2 days left, after that it's sink or swim."

Closing the door behind me, I head off towards the school, if all goes well I will end up with a new friend today… And god knows I need some good news in my life right now...


	3. Plans

**2 days until Z-day.**

(Alright, let's go over today's plan one more time.)

Right now I was standing next to the entrance of the school, looking at the building that was towering in front of me.

(My two main targets for today are, Kohta and the school's athletic equipment. I could start by looking around my class as I'm going to need a good location that I can easily reach to hide things that can cave somebody's head in. Maybe one of the unused lockers nearby? When the panic starts it will be easy to find an excuse as for why I had a weapon like a bat with me, not so much when it's a normal school day though. I will also stick with a normal baseball bat, cause you know what they say, don't fix it if it ain't broken.

Now the school definitely has baseball bats, since I remember Takashi using one in the anime, plus, I've also seen them being used in some school activities. Now, I have also seen the shed that teachers take the equipment to in order to store them. Problem is, they lock the door, so I will have to find a way to get in and 'borrow' a bat. Then get out without alerting half the school.

Going to the storage shed after the panic starts is also a big nope. It's outside of the main building and I don't wanna be stuck with the masses when they start to stampede towards the exits. So that leaves me to resort to… ughh, lick up to today's gym teacher and help him carry the equipment back to the storage, then find a way to get rid of him so I can 'work' in peace.

Now out of the usual people teaching gymnastics, we have the cult leader of the psychopathic perverts, and Mister zombie chow #1 aka Shido and Teshima. Of course there are other teachers that assist in P.E… but they will all be dead before the month ends and were never shown in the anime, so I didn't bother to learn who they were.)

With that thought in mind, I started making my way towards the side of the school to my left. PE classes were held there and the storage shed was also there. I had a little 'plan B' in mind, I just needed to check the storage building. If I'm lucky, I can evade the bootlicking.

After making my way through the track field next to the main building, I looked at the structure across it. It was not an impressive-looking, more like a run-down apartment really, about one and a half stories tall and made out of concrete.

After checking my surroundings to make sure I won't have any surprise visitors I walk towards the back of the shed. There was a small alley-like space here, probably 2 to 3 people could fit next to each other, between the shed and the school's cement fence-wall. I then walked into the alley checking the back of the shed for another way to enter inside. And sure enough, I found a window, wide-open and practically begging me to climb in.

"Well, guess I won't be bootlicking any teachers after all, thank god for that"

The window was a small one, probably 40 to 50 cm wide and on a height that even if I raised my arm and stretched out I could not reach it. I was about to drop my bag on the floor and jump to reach the window, when I heard the school bells ring out.

(Alright, I know how I'm getting into the shed, but I have no time left. All I need to do now is find a place to stash the 'tools' and I'm golden.)

Smiling to myself, I walk back out of the alley and head to class. On the way to my classroom, I kept an eye out for any location I could use to hide a bat… but no cigar. Other than my locker, there doesn't seem to be any easy to reach place for me to hide it. Trouble is, my locker is a bit too far for my liking.

Getting in the class and taking my seat I started thinking about my second target for today, Kohta.

(He's probably a go home club kind of guy and since he is still suppressing his anger for his 'normal life' as he calls it. He will probably still act meek. I do not know where his class is at, but there is only one main exit, the school gates. I can just wait there and 'accidentally' bump into him, dropping the papers about the shotgun in the process. I just hope that he won't get too startled, apologize and start running or something.)

While I was in my own thoughts, the teacher walked in and started the lesson. Not wanting another one on one with a teacher, I decided to pay 'attention' to the class…

So, An hour and some minutes later the bells ring out once more. It was time to get to work again.

Walking outside of the class I saw the staircase that led up to the roof.

(I could go and leave the bat on the roof, but honestly, I don't wanna be up there when Takashi and Co. gather. And while I got nothing against Rei, I don't want to deal with her self-absorbed hysteria. Plus, Takashi still likes her so I will let him have that hug. In other words, that's a no go for the roof.)

I kept moving around the hallway, but other than the occasional lockers, there was nothing else.

"Ughhh god-damn it, do I really need to put the thing in my locker?"

Putting my back against the window and giving off a sigh, I close my eyes and move my head around causing my neck bones to crackle, opening my eyes, I stare at the top of the lockers.

(The lockers are not tall enough either, putting the bat up there will still let people see it. Maybe I could just break my lock, then go to the teacher's office and tell them that my locker won't lock or something? Ask them to give me a new one, these lockers use number combinations, so they should have a book with the combinations for all the lockers somewhere. If I can take that then I can see the combination to a locker near my class… Hmm, yeah, let's do that.)

"At least the teacher's room has air conditioning"

I started moving towards my locker as I spoke...when something clicked in my head.

(Air conditioning...Air conditioning?...air VENTS! God why did I not think of that sooner.)

I dart my head around looking for anything that might look like a vent. Until my sight stopped at a small, rectangular metal covering in the wall. The air vents in this school were on the top part of the walls, and they were rather small. Still, they're perfect to hide a bat in. I then go back to my class and spot an air vent that was not too far from my class. Probably half a class away from my classroom door.

"Perfect, I could hide the bat in there. As for the screws, I can go to the room where Kohta made his handmade gun, they definitely got screwdrivers there. And i think I will keep it too, even unsharpened, I could still use it to stab zombies in the pterion… or whatever it's called"

With quick steps I head to the second floor, looking for any classroom that has equipment for construction, like drills, hammers and nails. 10 minutes in, I came across the said room. Lucky for me, it was unlocked too.

(Why do they leave this place unlocked in the first place? Saya and Kohta also just waltzed in if I remember correctly. Well, no need to look a gift horse in the mouth, time to find me a screwdriver.)

A couple of minutes later and several fake 'I dropped my wallet here' to evade the student's attention, I come across a long, flat-nosed screwdriver. Long enough to be used as a last-ditch effort weapon if needed. And the screwdriver's flat nose also means I could use it even if the screws were cross-shaped. Looking around to make sure nobody was looking at me, I then pocketed the screwdriver.

"yoink"

(I'm having way too much fun with this.)

I opened a hole in the inside pocket of my jacket with my new screwdriver and shoved it in its new home, then left like I just committed the heist of the century.

(Getting the bat and opening the vent while the school is teeming with kids and adults is not gonna happen. Either I sneak in during the night, or do it during club times. Meaning I got to meet with Kohta before doing any of this.)

The rest of the classes passed without anything notable happening.

After returning to class I left the screwdriver in my bag so I would not end up stabbing my guts by accident. Other than that, during the breaks I checked the shed window a couple of times to make sure it was still open. Until PE class arrived and the teacher who was to 'teach' us today was...

(Oh, is Teshima going to be teaching class today? Heh, thank God that the window is open. Means that I won't have to deal with that asshole when I'll try to get inside the shed.)

Looking around the school track, I realized that lady luck had just decided to be my best friend today, as Takashi's class also had PE right now. Meaning, Kohta was also here. I didn't know if i could use this to my advantage though. I mean, just staring at the pink-haired firecracker while she was dishing out poison to any unlucky person that blew her already short fuse made me a tad leery of approaching the other class. Takashi was not there, obviously. Rei and Hisashi were being all sweets and honey, to the point that my teeth started to actually hurt... Anyway, time to focus on my class for now, no need to get myself in trouble with Teshima.

Thanks to all the intense physical training I was doing, PE mostly felt like a joke now. So, by the time we were done, I had barely broken a sweat, and as the students started going to the changing rooms to wash up and change, I was standing there, wondering what to do.

(If I volunteer to gather all the balls and equipment to the shed, I could hide one of the bats in a bush and take it later to avoid all the shed window infiltration business. On the other hand, dealing with Teshima is… ugh.)

While I was thinking of what to do, I looked over to the other class, realizing that everybody had already left. Also, nobody seemed to be gathering all the stuff they had used, weird.

"SERPFAFIR IF YOU GONNA STAND THERE LIKE A DORK THEN START PICKING UP THE BALLS BEFORE I PICK YOU BY THE BALLS" Teshima yelled, causing some of my classmates to burst out in laughter.

(What an ass, wait, did he just call me Serpfafir? Get my name right you god-damn gorilla, it's Sepfier… I think. I mean it is my surname since last month or so? Well, you all gonna die soon anyway, so enjoy it while you can, asswipes. Well, so much about volunteering, guess I'm going with the initial plan after all.)

After picking up the equipment my class used and dumping them in the cart, I start making my way towards the shed, Teshima leading the way.

(I need to find a way to make the douche leave, think Naier, think.)

Reaching the shed Teshima unlocks it.

"Put the balls in the ball basket and the bats on the bat racks. Come on, get on with it Sepifer I don't got all day, I'm in a hurry."

(Don't got all day huh.)

I was trying very hard not to grin. As I walked towards the big basket that was filled with balls, I then 'accidentally' stumbled, falling on the basket. Then, there was chaos. Over fifty balls flying all over the place, bouncing to their freedom. I could now also hear Teshima's screams reaching some incredible decibels. He must have said my name about four times, all four times in different ways and all four of them wrong. I was honestly going to choke from holding my breath, cause I would definitely burst out in laughter if I tried to breathe.

"YOU GOD DAMN STUPID FOREIGNER! AGHHHHH, GET THE DAMN BALLS NOW, GOD I AM NEVER GOING TO LEAVE NOW AND KYOKO IS WAITING FOR ME."

His forehead veins had all popped out. The guy was truly, really, royally pissed. I would not be surprised if he actually lunged at me.

(Okay, to convince him to leave now. He did mention Kyoko, so maybe I can use her to get him to butt out.)

"Sir, this was my fault, you can give me the keys and go if you want."

"BOY are you fucking STUPID, why would I give YOU the keys when you can't even put a goddamn ball, IN A BASKET!"

"If I lose the keys it will be my responsibility. Also sir, won't you miss your meeting with Miss Kyoko if you stay?"

Teshima just stared at me, seemingly thinking, then after about 30 seconds...

"...You lose the keys, I will see to it that you get expelled Sepafier" Teshima said, throwing the keys toward me.

"Yes, sir" I responded as Teshima walked away in a hasty pace. And now, I was alone.

"...Ppffffftttt HAHAHA." I could not hold it in any longer. I was about to fall to the floor from laughing, like I just heard the joke of the day… A couple of minutes later, after I managed to get my bearings, I got up and started putting the balls in the basket. while eyeing the bats.

"Worth it, so fucking worth it." I still had a shit-eating grin on my face while I was picking up the seemingly unending amount of balls. As This was the last class for the day, it also meant I would miss Kohta. But, well, I still got tomorrow, and I regret nothing.

After about 10 minutes in, the balls on the floor had been reduced by half. It was then, that I saw a cart coming my way.

(Humm? It must be the guy in charge of cleaning after Takashi's class. Sure took their time, it must be at least 20 minutes since I started gathering the equipment in the field, wonder why they're so late...Oh god, I hope it's not Saya, or I'm gonna be hearing about how stupid I am for the next five minutes once she realizes I knocked the ball basket down. Then again, most people would be thinking that so, ughhh… guess I'm hosed.)

Once the cart got near, I could not actually believe my eyes. The one behind it was Kohta, seemingly looking down in the dumps.

(Holy shit, my luck today is off the charts. Now, all I need to do is make a good first impression, see if I can get him to hang out with me.)

After looking at the chubby guy for a bit, I walked out of the shed and called out to him.

"Hey there bro, bit late for the party, but come in, we got balls"

Kohta finally takes his eyes off his hands that are on the handle and looks at me.

"Huh, what… what do you mean?" he asked.

"Ehh, I kinda knocked over the basket with the balls and sent em all flying all over the place." I say while putting my hand on my hip and turning my torso to gesture into the shed behind me.

"Ohh." Kohta then looks behind me, seeing the remaining balls that were still on the ground.

"Still, had you arrived 10 minutes earlier, you would have had the joy of seeing Teshima sing opera, Viking helmet and all" I start chuckling from my own little joke after finishing.

"So, why are you so late anyway, if I didn't have my little 'accident' you would have been locked outside the shed."

"I uhhhh, I was… " His eyes darted left and right for a few seconds before looking back down to his hands.

(Huh? What sort of reaction is that? Was he stuck in the bathroom or something? Or… if I remembered correctly, Kohta mentioned in the manga that he got bullied by his class, so there's a chance they dumped cleaning duty on him so they could leave early.)

"They dumped you with cleaning duty?" I asked him with a straight face as I folded my arms.

"Uhh well, they… uh they didn't do that… I just."

(Yep, definitely got dumped with the job. Well, this can be my chance to get close to him. I got a good feeling about this, so time to put my plan into motion.)

"Heh, relax, if people did dump it to you, then they don't deserve your restraint, they deserve a twelve gauge in the kneecap from a KSG."

While I did do my research about guns, and quite a lot at that. I did not really know how rare, or exotic each gun was. So I just picked one that I remember having a good reputation with a fancy-sounding name and used it as an icebreaker.

Kohta looked at me for a bit, then looked back towards the shed.

"Actually, a shot from a 45 caliber gun would be better. It would not sever the leg like a shot from the KSG, but instead only break the kneecap, and most importantly not kill. A broken kneecap would cause the one you shot to survive, but they would feel an intense amount of pain. So much so that they would probably pass out. After that, they would probably need intensive medical care, which might still not be enough to actually completely save the leg as the shot could have damaged the kneecap beyond repair, causing permanent disability. A 1911 or a P227 should be more than enough to get the job done."

(...While I knew that Kohta was a gun nut, seeing it up close, is pretty amazing)

" I'm sorry, " After finishing his rant, he suddenly turns his head back down. Probably thinking that my silence meant that I disapproved of his comment.

"That. Was pretty amazing." I raise my eyebrow as I speak.

Kohta lifts his head and looks at me with a slack-jawed expression.

"You went from saying two words per five minutes to telling me an essay in less than ten seconds. Marked me impressed. I take it, you like guns?"

"Mhm yeah" he nods at me.

(Well I didn't expect him to go all starry-eyed and start talking like a maniac. But honestly, his second reaction is a bit more lackluster than I expected… )

"Well, while I enjoyed our little chat, I still gotta gather them balls over there" I point my thumb behind me.

"Ohh yes, of course." Kohta then looks back to his cart.

"Well the shed is kind of a mess right now, but you can probably put your cart in the back somewhere, as I have cleaned that spot at least. " I remarked to Kohta as I started going back into the shed, picking up the balls and putting them back in the basket.

"Hmm, ok i will do that" Kohta pushes the cart into the shed and starts unloading the equipment from it and into their respective places.

"Say, have you ever shot a gun?" I turned my head to him as I left the ball I was holding in the basket.

(I know that he had already gone off to the USA and trained with that contractor, but I just had a very crazy idea, and I liked that crazy idea.)

"Ah, yes, yes I have, I have practiced with multiple weapons actually" Kohta didn't stop unloading the cart while speaking.

"Interesting, tell you what. I know we just met like what, five to ten minutes ago? But you seem to be a cool guy and the only reason you ended up here is because some retards forced their work on you. So, how about I help you turn the day around?"

"No, it's ok I don't really mind..."

"Oh ok, I was going to head to the gun range after this, seeing how you like guns so much, I figured you would like to come along, but if you have other stuff to do I get it" I cut him off, trying to hold off my grin.

It must have taken less than a second before I heard the sound of something hitting the floor. I then turn my head around towards the noise and see that Kohta has dropped a wooden bat, seemingly frozen and staring at me.

"The… the gun range? But you're not 18 yet, you can't go there" Kohta's eyes were wide open as he spoke. I just smiled, putting the last ball back into the basket.

"Well normally yes, but let's just say that I made the gun range owner make an...exception, don't worry, no violence, blackmailing or anything unsavory" I say, raising my hands up.

"So, you in? Or am I going by myself?"

Kohta's eyes were practically glowing now…

( Now I know he wants to come. He is probably just trying to be cautious as… well he just met me what, 30 minutes ago? I just hope tha…)

"YES, I MEAN NO, I MEAN I'M COMING TOO!" He shouts before I could even finish thinking.

(Aaand, I probably just turned this into the most exciting day of the month for him, at least until the zombies decide to come knocking and he finally gets to let loose.)

"Alright, once we're done we'll go, I gotta return the keys to 'sir opera singer' first though. Wait for me outside the school gates. After that, we go ahead to the gun range"

"O...OK!" Kohta then just darted out of the shed.

(I don't think I ever saw him run that fast… He also forgot to put all his stuff from the cart back to the baskets. Oh well, I guess I will finish it for him. Also, With Kohta gone, I can go ahead with stea… I mean 'borrowing' a bat.)

I then grab a couple of bats and test them out, until finding one that seemed to be in top condition. I take it, and lock the shed behind me.

(As long as they don't decide to do an inventory count on the gym equipment tomorrow, nobody will realize this one is missing. Now all I need to do is figure out how I'll get this to the vent next to my class.)

I turn to look at the school from where I'm standing, silhouettes walking in the hallways.

(No good, there's no way I can take this bat up there undetected while also dealing with the screws on the vent. Guess I'll be coming to school again after it's dark. This is just a normal school after all, it shouldn't have too many guards, and the guards themselves might just be teachers.)

I nod to myself and hide the bat in a nearby bush, then head towards the school staff room in order to give Teshima back his keys.

After arriving at the staff room and giving the keys to the first teacher I saw, saying that they are for Teshima, I head to my class and take my stuff. I actually also waited for a bit in order to see whether I could just unscrew the vent now to save time. But it couldn't be done, a random teacher or student would occasionally pass, not giving me enough time to take a chair and climb up to unscrew the thing. So I just left it as is and went to meet with Kohta.

Upon reaching the school's front door, I saw Kohta waiting with his arms folded by the school gate, looking at the floor and occasionally towards the school's front door.

(Jeez, you don't have to look 'this' lost in space Kohta.)

I then walked out the front door and headed towards him. Once he raised his head again, I lifted my arm up to about head high to make him notice me, after I was close enough for him to see of course. No need to make a fool out of myself now.

"Hey there commando, ready to go shoot some guns?" I say to the guy while he starts smirking.

"Always, oh by the way, my name is Kohta Hirano" He responds.

"Naier Sepfier, well then Hirano let's get going. Oh and, you can call me Naier, my surname's kind of a mouthful." I say as I fold my arms.

"Alright, you can call me Kohta then." After Kohta finishes speaking, I extend my arm to him for a western-style handshake, which he returns.

"Well then Kohta, let's get going, we're walking there" I add as i nod.

"Ehhh, must we? I kind of... hate walking" Kohta then responds with one of his ever first lines from the anime, or well, the fact that he hates walking.

"Yep. Just think of the guns Kohta, oh and check this out " I say as I take off my bag, open it, and show Kohta the print outs that I had originally planned to use as bait.

"That's the manual for the Mossberg 500 Cruiser Pump Action Shotgun." Kohta says while looking at the picture of the shotgun on the first paper.

"Yeah I'm gonna be trying to shoot something like that today, or at least one of its versions. Check it out while we head there and tell me if there's something extra I should know about." I say while handing the manual to Kohta.

"Sure thing" That was all he said before becoming engrossed with reading the gun manual.

(I should make sure he doesn't get run over by a car or something...)


	4. Guns guns guns

2 days until Z-Day.

(I am having this weird feeling right now. The feeling you get when you see something that ought to be impossible, happening. Like seeing a person you never thought you'd see in your life or even a giant flying mecha that gives Newton the finger.

While I still get goosebumps every time I see somebody from the main 'cast' while in school, having Kohta walking next to me makes the sensation go to a totally different level. He's a character I always thought I would only ever see behind a screen, yet here he is walking next to me. I just hope that when I'll have to interact with the rest of the group it won't feel so weird.)

"Hey Naier, are we there yet?" Kohta asked while dragging his feet.

We must have walked a good thirty minutes since leaving school.

"Almost, about five to ten minutes or so." I say to Kohta while thinking about the gun range.

(The building is soundproof, so it could make for a good base post outbreak. As it would mask any sounds a survivor is going to make from the inside, but there's one problem. It is a shooting-range/gun shop, so everybody and my grandma will go there to get a gun. Meaning, it will be flooded with survivors before long, so there is a good chance this place will be either overrun, or house other survivors. That makes the place too unreliable to be placed in my priority list.)

"Hey Naier… are we really going to… you know, shoot any guns?" Kohta turns his head to me.

"Hmm, if you think that I might be lying then why did you come along with me in the first place? As for your question, yes we are going to have some target practice, don't worry." I say to Khota making a thumbs up gesture with my hand.

"Oh, s-sorry I didn't mean like that. It's just, you are being awfully kind, it's a little weird for me. Sorry." Kohta was now looking at the ground again, hands in his pockets.

"Don't worry bub, I have no intention of lying to you. But, words are just words after all, so the best way to prove my word is for you just see it for yourself. So, speaking of our future activity, are you a good shot?"

"ehh...I'm ok." Kohta said while scratching the side of his head.

(Ok, my ass. If you are half as good as what the anime portrayed you to be, you are either undermining yourself, or trying to catch me off guard.)

"Right… I'll keep that in mind. By the way, we're here." I turn my head around and point at a rather small corner building.

The building itself was plain, no signs or flashy big letters with the exception of a large window that took about half of the storefront. On the other side of the window were different types of crossbows and air rifles. Kohta eyed the display for a little, then opened his mouth to speak while I was looking at my phone.

"This is a..."

"Good time to take a break" I interrupt Kohta before he can go on a derailing gun rant again.

"We've arrived a bit faster than I expected. The gun range won't be open for the next fifteen minutes, so we have to wait for a bit. Anything you want to do till then?" I look back at the chubby boy while putting the phone back in my pocket.

"We can go inside and check the guns out, I bet they hid the better stuff inside." Kohta said as he was about to walk inside.

"We are not going inside yet, come on, let's go wait on a bench for now." I turn around and start walking away with Kohta following behind me, occasionally turning his head towards the storefront.

"But… but… the guns."

I sat on a nearby bench with Kohta following suit, he looked rather...sad. Then again this guy is addicted to guns and I just denied him his fix soooo, yeah.

"So how did you learn so much about guns anyway? I mean I like guns as much as the next guy, but you blow me out of the water with your knowledge on the things, at least that's the impression I got with that impressive rant of yours." I folded my arms and leaned back on the bench.

"...Well, I read about guns a lot. I also had a… friend that knew a lot about guns. He taught me for a while, he was also the reason I managed to shoot some as well"

(Friend? I'm pretty sure he never mentioned that he had friends in Blackwater USA when he said that to the group, or did he? Though I suppose he doesn't want to stick out too much by saying that he had training by a private military company in the US.)

"I see, well I hope he taught you well enough, you'll need it."

"I will?" Kohta was scratching his cheek, with a curious look in his face.

"You'll see what I mean soon enough don't worry about it." Turning my away from Kohta I started thinking about my plan for tonight.

(Once the sun is out I'll have to 'visit' the school, thankfully all my clothes are either black or… dark gray? So it should let me blend in with the shadows. I suppose that the guards will be holding flashlights so I should be able to spot them faster than they can spot me.

As for telling Kohta that he will need to shoot 'good' soon, that was actually with double meaning. Sure, one is for when the shit hits the fan. But the second one is actually for right now. If the owner sees Kohta shoot, and he is as good as he should be, he will be interested in a match, or I hope he will be.

The owner is a foreigner like me. Maybe it's also one of the reasons he accepted my offer in the first place, the other being that the paycheck itself was rather fat. Now, so far he kept his word and for one hour he'd let me use or check the guns out in the range, along with some boxes of ammo to use. All of that after closing time so other people won't see me. As that would only cause trouble both for me and him. He probably won't be too happy with Kohta being here today though. I could tell him I'll pay extra? Although that would be a lie as I don't have any more cash to spend, and he would want the cash right there and then.)

After ten silent minutes, I get up, gesturing for Kohta to follow me.

Arriving outside of the store I motion Kohta to wait and head into the store myself.

"Hey kid, last day you come here, as per our agreement" The owner glanced at me while he was fiddling with the register. He was of average height with a buzz cut haircut. His gray cargo pants covering his boots and a plain white T-shit on his torso.

"Indeed it is, but before we go on I got to ask you something" The owner hearing my request folds his arms and cocks his head to the side, gesturing for me to continue on.

"I have a guy with me that might be a better shot than you, interested in checking him out?" The owner instantly smirks a little at my statement.

"Ohhhh a better shot than me you say. Kid, I shoot here daily. Can I even take this 'offer' seriously?"

"Well how about this, you check him out right now, if he is good enough to prove a challenge, then you let us stay. If he turns out to be a fluke, I leave now and you can close the store early and go home, you already have the payment for today so you don't really lose anything."

The owner thinks for a bit putting his finger on his temple

"Very well kid, I'll bite. Bring the guy at the gun range downstairs and then get ready to go home early." The owner turns around and walks towards the underground range laughing at his own 'amazing' joke.

I walk back out to find Kohta twiddling his thumbs.

(If I didn't know better, I would begin to panic right about… now.)

"Well bud come on, it's time to sink or swim." I motion for Kohta with my hand to enter the store.

The moment he entered his eyes started shining, his head darting left and right like an excited puppy to all the guns on the displays. While Kohta was busy with that, I was changing the door's front sign from open to closed and locking the door with the key that was on the knob.

"THAT...THAT'S THE REMINGTON 870." Kohta shouted before he ran to the other side of the store.

"AND THIS… YES THE BENELLI NOVA… THEY EVEN HAVE SOME WINCHESTER 1300 AND, AND, AND."

Before Kohta could blow up like a hype bomb I started moving towards him.

"You can stay here and drool over the hunting shotguns if you want, I'm going downstairs to see some real guns."

I guess the word 'real' struck home as Kohta snapped out of his gun fugue and quickly followed me.

Heading downstairs we reached a glass door with the gun range on the other side. It was not too large, with stands for 5 people, and a range long enough to effectively be a challenge if the targets were in the farthest part of it. Next to the range was a small room with a desk and some chairs along with a small tv for spectators and a locked door on the back of said room leading to the range's armory.

I walked through the glass door and the owner turned to see me, his face slowly turning to a frown.

"Is this your idea of a joke kid? You told me you found a GUY, he's a god-damn school kid for god's sake!" His eyes narrowed as he stared at me.

"And my offer still stands, let him take one shot, if he's not good enough we leave. You save ammo and you can go home early." I respond as I fold my arms.

(I hope he takes the offer, since he has all the right to refuse the challenge and just send us all home. But, I was hoping that he would at least give me this much as it was my last day here anyway.)

"Ughhhh… one shot kid, no more. If this turns out to be a joke, you two will leave immediately." He puts his hand on his forehead while covering his eyes, exasperated.

"So Kohta you up for it? If you want to shoot more than once you just have to..." I didn't manage to even finish my sentence as Kohta had moved past me.

(Ohh boy is Kohta in spec ops mode because the owner said he can actually shoot?)

"Show me what I'm going to use and what I'm shooting."

(Yep he's gone full commando, and not the no pants type one.)

The owner snickered a bit and moved to the range with Kohta following behind him, his eyes slowly widening when he saw the gun that he was supposed to use.

"This is a Remington Model 700, personally customized by me. You got one shot chubby, farthest target, surprise me." After handing Kohta with the gun, the owner walked back to me with a shit-eating grin on his face, we then headed towards the chairs in the spectator room.

"Well kid it was fun working with ya, but you should learn not to make bets with things you don't understand." He then puts his hands on the back on his head with the grin still on his face, waiting for Kohta to take his shot.

"This is a Vortex Optics Viper PST with a custom stock and a custom body made out of carbon and fiberglass. I need to calibrate the scope to make sure my shot will find its mark, the stand here does not have any bipods to place the gun while I aim. So, I will have to crouch down and use the stand itself."

Kohta was mumbling to himself as he moved himself into a crouching position while fiddling with the scope...that mumbling though, seemed to have caught the owner's attention, as he was now staring at Kohta, his smirk slowly disappearing.

"That kid, he knows what he's doing, he has used a gun before?" The owner asked. Judging from his expression, I'd say he was starting to take the bet seriously now.

"Yes. I did tell you that he's a good shot. Did you forget? Now, it was my turn to grin.

"I'm ready." Kohta, now in a crouched position, turned to look at us with his hand in the air in a thumbs up motion.

The owner nodded and Kohta lowered his hand, placing his finger over the trigger. He looked through the scope once more, and a couple of seconds later, he pulled the trigger.

The owner's eyes went wide as he looked at the screen.

"Bullseye on his first try… " He then got up from his seat and walked towards Kohta.

"Not bad chubby, guess your friend was right to trust you. It's a challenge then" The owner then turns to me.

"Ok kid, he can stay. We'll have that match." He nods as he looks at me, then turns his head back to Kohta.

"Well, let's see what you really got chubby."

The owner takes the gun from Kohta and heads towards the locked room, unlocks it and goes inside closing the door behind him and locking it back again.

I get up and walk up to Kohta, who had left the stand and was walking towards me.

"Good job." I slap Kohta on the shoulder lightly.

"Ehehe, thanks... Man I can't wait." Kohta then took a seat and looked at the screen.

"Well, now I can officially say that I have kept my word, no?" I lift one eyebrow while looking at Kohta.

He turns his head back to me, smiling.

"Yea and right now I'm very glad I actually came along, thanks Naier."

"Don't mention it."

The sound of the back door unlocking caused both of us to turn our heads. The owner walked out of the locked room with three unmodified Remington 700 with him and three small bags of ammo.

"Alright kids take your positions, I'm going to wipe the floor with ya." He hands both of us a gun and an ammo pouch and then goes back to lock the door while we head to the range and get ready.

"This match will be for as long as you are here, meaning it will last for forty-five minutes. We will have a five-minute break every fifteen minutes to check scores and restock if we run out of ammo." With that, the owner picks his gun and points at the target with it.

"We will be aiming at the furthest targets on the other side of the wall, bullseye will be a hundred points, each circle around it will be twenty points less the farther it is from the bullseye. So 80 for the nearest, 60 for the one after and so on and so forth. The gun holds 4 rounds, three in the magazine and 1 in the chamber. We'll each have 50 rounds to use, I'll be surprised if you manage to use it all though. Get ready we start on three"

After taking some ammo from the bag and placing them in easy reach all of us took our guns and took aim. The owner was standing upright, Kohta was using his previous position and I used my elbows to balance the gun on the stand putting my cheek on the stock.

"THREE, TWO, ONE"

"FIRE"

Sounds of gunshots echoed in the soundproof room. I had no idea how I was doing since the target was rather small from this distance, but I got to admit. I was having fun.

*15 MINUTES LATER*

"Time up, guns down!" Shouts the owner.

After the first round was over we left the guns and headed to the spectator room to see the targets and checked our shots.

Owner : 4 Bullseye, 14 second circles, 12 third circles, 7 fourth circles, 0 on the fifth circle to a total of 2540.

Kohta : 13 Bullseye, 20 second circles, 0 third circles, 0 fourth circles, 0 on the fifth circle to a total of 2900.

Me : 11 Bullseye, 6 second circles, 2 third circles, 0 fourth circles, 0 on the fifth to a total of 1700.

I looked at Kohta, who had a wide grin on his face.

The owner was actually smiling as well.

(I guess he did find the challenge fun, huh.)

"Kid, you're falling behind, chubby here is leaving you in the dust." He snickered as he turned to face me, I laughed a little through my teeth.

"Tell me that when you're winning, you're still in second place."

The owner heads back to the locked room with hasty steps and comes back with another bag full of ammo.

"Refill your ammo pouch with this, after that we go for the second round" The owner hands us the bag.

I took the bag first as I was the farthest away, then gave it to Kohta who then gave it back to the owner who, after refilling his pouch, headed back to the door and left the bag inside.

"Alright ladies on your posts we start on… three, two, one, fire!" The owner shouted the count down once more and the guns lit up again.

(Honestly, I do not expect to do any better now, getting bullseyes means that my aim is good enough to hit a dead man in the head from a good enough distance. That's what I need right now.)

Keeping my eyes on the target I continue to take shots, reloading the gun after every time it empties.

*15MINUTES LATER*

"Time's up, guns down!" Shouts the owner once more.

Kohta and the owner quickly walk back to the room to check their scores with me following behind them.

OWNER : 9 Bullseye, 17 second circles, 4 third circles, 6 fourth circles, 0 on the fifth circle to a total of 5280 with the last round's score added.

Kohta : 16 Bullseye, 14 second circles, 0 third circles, 0 fourth circles, 0 on the fifth circle to a total of 5620 with the last round's score added.

Me : 13 Bullseye, 9 second circles, 1 third circle, 0 fourth circles, 0 on the fifth to a total of 3780 with the last round's score added.

"Well chubby, looks like you were worth the challenge, you actually won. We have five minutes left but I don't think I can pass over you now." The owner was smiling while looking at the screen.

"And kid, what did I tell ya about being too slow, you fell way behind. Your score is just sad" He turns to me folding his arms, still smiling.

"Well if I could be as good as the pros with so little training it would be cheating no?" I lift my hands up in a surrendering gesture.

"Huh whatever, I did not expect us to make so much of a mess so I will have to ask for you two to leave now, I'll have to clean this place. Take it as your friend's prize that I'm not making you gather the cases. Now shoo get outta here."

The owner points at the door with his finger.

We both nod and start heading towards the glass door, after Kohta is heading up the stairs I turn around and speak up.

"We can't lock the door from the outside so you might want to come and lock it." The owner stared at me for a bit.

"Yeah, you're right. Just go up I'll be there to lock the front door in a bit" He leaves the bag he had on his hands and looks at me.

"Very well. Also thanks for taking up my offer, both now and when we first met." I say to the owner while nodding.

"The paycheck was good, now get out of here kid. I have to close shop." He points his finger once more towards the stairs behind me.

"Gehh, way to ruin the moment, sir-ass-sir" I turned around, laughing while walking up the stairs. I think I heard the owner laugh too?

Heading back to the front of the store I looked at Kohta who was drooling over the shotguns again.

"You just can't have enough, can you" I say to Kohta while moving to the door, unlocking it.

"Nope." He starts moving towards the door as well, his head still turned to the shotguns.

After we both exited the gun range, I took a deep breath and started walking. Motioning Kohta to move along.

"He told me he will be up in a bit to lock the door, so we can just leave." I turned to look at Kohta.

"So had any fun?" I ask.

"You kidding, that was amazing. Most fun I had in ages." Kohta says happily while he clapped his hands together.

"You know. If you are coming here again… could you, you know… let me join again?" He asks as he turns to look at the floor.

"Sure thing." I answer.

(Sure thing… sure thing. Wish I could do such a thing but in two days we'll be running for our lives. Well… at least the 'shooting guns' part is going to happen again i guess.)

We continue walking for a couple of minutes till we reach an intersection.

Kohta then stops and looks at me.

"Well, I'll be going this way. My house is over that direction so I guess we'll split up here" Kohta points at a road to my right that climbed up a hill.

"Alright Kohta, take care." I held out my arm. After he looks at it for a few seconds he smiles and grabs it for a handshake.

"By the way Naier, the owner of the store… what's his name?" Kohta asks as he lets go of my arm.

"Oh, I… got no idea, he never told me" I raise my arms and shrug.

"Really, he lets you use the gun range, yet he didn't tell you his name?" Kohta tilts his head in confusion.

"He doesn't know mine either. We had an agreement but that didn't make us buddies." I lowered my arms down and looked back at the gun range.

(I still wish him the best of luck for what is to come though. Even if he did take all my frigging money.)

"Anyway I should get going too, it's getting a bit late. The sun won't be out for a couple of hours but I still haven't even opened a book to study today" I say to Kohta, which causes him to react in the expected fashion.

"CRAP YOU'RE RIGHT, HOMEWORK!" He screams as I nod at him. I turn around and start walking down the road, as I hear running footsteps behind that slowly started to fade away.

(Wonder how long he will be able to run up this hill… Well whatever, I got my own 'homework' to do as well.)


	5. Night raid

2 Days before Z-day, Night.

A couple of hours have passed since I left Kohta and returned to my apartment, and the sun was out. Meaning, it was time to put plan two into motion.

I was sitting by my desk, with the computer playing a random song. On the desk, the equipment I was going to use for my 'visit' at the school.

"Screwdriver, two belts to wrap the bat around my leg so I don't have to carry it on hand, a half-face mask, gloves and a flashlight. I'll only use the flashlight in case of an emergency though, as it will be a dead give away that there's a person sneaking about."

I got up from the desk and went to the wardrobe taking out a black jacket with an attached hood.

(If this jacket was leather it would look way cooler, but ehh too noisy. My shirt and pants are already black so no need to change them. Wearing army type boots would look cool as well but the soles on them are too hard, my steps will echo from miles away. So I'll stick with the field hunting boots I have as they have softer soles.

Now the guards in the school are probably actual guards and not teachers, don't think guarding the school is on their payroll. Well, maybe they would be if the school was cheap, but it's not, so I better go expecting actual guards. Although, it would be fun to meet Shido in a dark corner...but that scum would never volunteer for guard duty even if there was one.

Now getting in the school grounds will be easy enough, just jump over the fence. Getting in the school building itself, will be more tricky. The doors and windows will probably be locked, so I got to think of another way to get in. For that, I have three possible plans in my head at the moment.

The first is, waiting until a guard unlocks a door and then somehow managing to get in with him.

The second is, checking the nurse office window, betting on Shizuka's clumsiness that she might have left the window unlocked and nobody locked it after her.

The third plan is, to climb to the first floor via the bridge-like structure that links the school buildings together, although there is a chance that the doors there will be locked as well.

Now, I shouldn't go there too soon, the longer the guards do their shift, the bigger the likelihood of them loosening up and making a mistake. There's a reason the saying 'we attack at dawn' exists.)

I decided to take a small break from overthinking my plan and went outside to get something to eat. With the slight hope that some bright idea might come to me while I'm taking a stroll...

Taking .my keys from the desk I leave my apartment complex and head to the nearest convenience store

"It's funny if you think about it, after the outbreak I might start eating better..."

Reaching the store, I got in and bought the most expensive bread the store had to sell.

"I don't think I'll be able to eat tomorrow after the sun will be out, so here's to my last nightly meal me. Don't choke on it." I whisper to myself as i exit the store.

In the end, I returned to my apartment without any great new mind-boggling ideas, so, I started getting ready for my little infiltration... After putting the black jacket on, I shoved the gloves, half mask, extra belts and flashlight in my pant's pockets. No need to get myself arrested for looking like the stereotypical burglar after all. I then sat on the chair to put on the boots. Looking at my computer screen, I noticed the date and time.

1 Day before Z-day.

"Midnight, the last day with no brain munching corpses has begun… Anyway, got to focus on the task at hand… It is going to take me a good thirty minutes to get to the school, so if I leave now I can go and spend some time checking out how the patrols work, or if lady luck will bless me again, find an open window."

I get up from my chair, take the screwdriver and conceal it in my sleeve, then grab the keys and head out.

Before leaving my apartment, I decided to leave my keys under the front mat.

"Too noisy to take them with me, so just in case, better leave them here."

I nod and start making my way towards the school at a slow pace.

(It's not cold out tonight, that's good. I don't want to freeze my ass over while I'm scoping out the school.)

Walking down the dark silent road I start thinking about tomorrow.

(I wonder whether I should try to make contact with Saeko or Saya tomorrow… Because, I got to admit. In the anime, I liked those two the most. Still, even thinking about interacting with them makes me kinda nervous… Huh, no point in thinking about it. I'll worry about it once the sun is up, got to focus on breaking into the school right now.)

While heading towards the school I thought about all the parkour practice I have done and the videos I've seen. Along with all the methods I read up on silent running and muffling movement, I shouldn't have any real trouble avoiding the walking dead.

(Knowing how to vault over a fence or climbing a tall wall will be very helpful, both now and for what is to come. A lot of my physical training was actually leaning towards learning how to do that, rather than building up muscle mass so I could swing things around like a gorilla. As being able to swing efficiently and have more 'escape routes' is far more important than being able to swing around rebars. I just hope that I won't end up face flat on the floor when it counts, don't think I'll be able to muffle 'that' sound.)

Because of my slow walking pace, getting to school actually took almost an hour.

After finally arriving at the front gate, I check the other side, but see nothing. I then move to the front gate doors and give it a push.

(Locked, obviously.)

I then start walking around the school, following the fence while looking for anything that could be used as a blind spot so I don't end up looking like a flag when I'll vault over.

After looking for a while and finding no obvious blind spot, I decided to just jump inside from around the location of the school's equipment shed.

After making my way to the back of the school where the shed was located I take out and wear the gloves and half mask then pull up the jacket's hood.

(Time to go ninja mode.)

I toss the screwdriver to the other side through the gap of the metal bars and grab the top of the fence, jumping and pulling myself up until the top of the wall is at my hips, then hold this position as I try to figure out how to get over the fence without slamming the ground.

(If I vault over I'll end up landing noisily on the other side. Can't do that, I need to get used to being as silent as possible when I'm not in a hurry. So I should just pass my legs over and lower myself.)

And so, I passed my legs over the fence, spinning myself in the process, and with a last look at the streets outside, I lowered my body until my feet touched the ground. Then, I went to a crouching position.

I grabbed the screwdriver and ran behind the shed and looked over at the track, and then across the track at the school's windows, making sure that there weren't any spectators.

(Now the real boss battle begins, first I need to check the bushes to see if my bat is still there. No point doing anything else if the first step is already a bust.)

Still crouching, I moved towards the bushes near the shed. After reaching them, I looked around at where I had hidden the bat earlier.

(Good, it's still here.)

I picked up the bat, took out the two belts from my pocket and used them to wrap the bat on my thigh. Afterward, I headed near the school's wall in order to walk alongside it, so I won't be visible to any guards that were inside the building. Like that, I start heading towards the main entrance.

(No guards so far, hope they don't appear on my face all at once.)

Before reaching the front entrance of the school I move away from the wall at a location with no windows over me, and head towards the nearby trees.

(Got to thank whoever thought that this school needed so many bushes and trees. Half the school is surrounded by greenery. Still no sight of any guards though.)

With the cover of the vegetation, I move to the front entrance of the school and lie down near a bunch of bushes. With my cover making sure that I wouldn't be seen by any passing guards, I started scoping the front entrance of the school and the hallway where my target, the vent, is located at.

(Alright, now I have to wait for a bit, I got to see if any guards pass over the hallway and if any of them will exit the front door or… Well, now that I think about it, if this place has any guards at all.)

And...Twenty minutes passed in total silence...No patrols, no flashlights, no nothing. So, I got up and started moving towards the door. After reaching it, I gave it an experimental push.

(Locked, if the place is really empty then breaking a window is the only way. I'll do that as a last resort though. Even if I'm about seventy present sure that there are no guards around, better be safe than sorry.)

Screwdriver in hand I start moving towards the nurse office.

After some minutes I reach my target location and check the window, only to find it locked as well.

(Locked. Out of all the things you had to be punctual with Shizuka, this had to be one of them… Well, back of the school and broken window it is then.)

As I start making my way towards the back of the school I spot a flash of light over the corner.

(Holy Shit!)

I dart my head around looking for any possible cover, spotting another patch of greenery. I move away from the window and silently run behind a tree then go to a prone position so I can hide behind the bushes.

The light turns over the corner and illuminates where I was a second ago, slowly making its way across. I also got a good look at the guard while he was passing by. He was a short chubby guy, and while I couldn't make out his facial expression from here, from the way he was dragging his feet, he didn't look very excited to be here.

I decided to follow behind the guard while still staying behind cover. Until we were near the front entrance again, there I saw another flashlight illuminating the dark field.

(A second guard, are they going to change shifts? I'll have to watch them from a distance, being too close while both of them are there could end horribly for me.)

I stopped tailing the guard and took a wider approach. After picking up enough distance to feel comfortable with, I lay down on a sloped hill, to use as cover as I checked on the guards.

From this distance I couldn't make out the second guard's appearance very well other than that he looked average. After the two guards met up and spoke for a bit, the second guard then handed the first one something and started going in the opposite direction from which the second guard arrived from. The first guard then walked to the front door pushed it open and after closing it, he locked it from the inside.

(It seems that there are at least two patrol routes, one inside the school itself and another on the outside perimeter. After finishing their round, the two guards then meet in the front entrance and switch routes, and from I can see, switch keys. )

(Hmm, wait, the door wasn't locked when he went inside...If they don't lock the door while they wait to change routes I could sneak in then. Hmm, there's a slope to my left that continues up to the left side of the building's entrance, and then some. There's also a staircase passing though that slope, for people that want to head on towards the field to my left, that's also the route the second guard actually took. So, I can just go there, then head straight and hide next to the wall of the main building, until the guard exits.)

Putting my plan into action, I walked stealthily to the slope to my left before sitting tight in my new hiding spot. Waiting for the second guard to come to a full circle while also checking for any signs of the first guard passing through the hallway I'll have to be at. After the second guard made a total of two rounds, I saw light coming from the targeted hallway.

(The second guard is making his rounds faster. It has only been twenty minutes, and he is on his second lap. The first guard on the other hand took about twenty minutes to do one lap as I didn't see him when I was waiting here before.)

Five minutes later, A light came out of the main hallway. The first guard strolled up to the front door, unlocked it and headed outside. He then sat on the bench near me, his back turned to the slope. After that he took out his phone, plugging his ears with what seemed to be earbuds.

(I was going to wait until it was his turn to be inside the building again, but this is just too good to pass up.)

I silently got up and started walking straight. Once I closed in to the bench that the guard was sitting on I slowed down and walked past the guard while he was too busy singing along to something I couldn't really understand. Yeah, that's how bad his singing was.

After I passed by the guard I kept looking back every few steps until I reached the wall. What was next was the ten most slow seconds in my life, up until now at least...I made my way to the door while walking sideways, my eyes drilling holes into the guard's head.

(if he raises his head and looks left, I'm toast.)

After reaching the door I opened it and moved backward with my full attention on the guard. Once I was through the door I slowly closed it, all the while making sure that the bat would not accidentally hit anything. The moment the door closed I took a few more steps backward until I could turn around the corner. With the guard out of sight, I turned and walked down the hall to my right, in the direction the guards use when they start their round. With that hurdle out of the way, I started thinking about the vent, especially on how to reach it.

(Usually, there is a chair under the staircase in this hall, probably used by the janitor when he or she is on a break. I'll use that to reach the vent.)

Getting to the staircase, I find no chair, only a broom and a mop along with a bucket.

(Damn it, no chair. But, hmmm, that bucket should be able to give me enough height to at least unscrew the bolts. I just hope it's going to hold my weight.)

I picked up the bucket, making sure it had no water in it, and headed up the stairs. After going to the second floor I started moving faster while keeping my eyes on the entrance downstairs. The guard was still there, sitting on the bench. In other words, the other guard was not there yet. After a couple of minutes of light jogging, I made my way to the vent near my classroom. I took one final look outside to see the guard still sitting there.

(Good I got some time.)

I take the bucket and turn it around then place it on the ground. Afterward, I carefully place my foot on it, trying not to put my weight on the center of the bucket. After a few checks with my foot, making sure that it wouldn't collapse under my weight, I stood up on top of the bucket, the vent now within my arm's reach. So Screwdriver in hand, I start unscrewing the vent's bolts. After taking off the two lower bolts and pocketing them, I unscrew one of the top bolts and then slightly unscrew the fourth, letting the vent come undone, but still hanging on the last bolt.

I then undo the top belt on my leg and take the bat off of my leg to put it inside the vent. I slowly placed the bat, first to limit any noise it might make touching the metal vent. Second, to actually make sure there's enough room for the bat, as it was too dark to actually see inside the vent.

(It would be funny if I did all this only for the vent to end up being shorter in length than the bat. Or worse, if the vent went down vertically and the bat fell in...)

Luckily,no such calamity happened and I was able to put the whole bat inside the vent. So with the bat safely hidden inside the vent now, I placed the vent cover back in its place. I then started to screw in the vent cover. Only to realize halfway through that I really don't want to be busy unscrewing a vent on Z-day. With that in mind I screwed in only one bolt, the one horizontally across the partially unscrewed one, after leaving the two extra bolts inside the vent. That way the vent looked normal, while I could also easily unscrew it on Z-day.

(This should hold it for now and tomorrow, meaning today, will be the only day that it really has to go unnoticed.)

Getting off the bucket, I tightened the belts on my leg. Looking outside I saw that the guard on the front door was gone.

(The second guard should be inside the building now.)

Leaving from the main exit is a bit risky now. I better exit the building from a back window on the first floor.

(I have not seen how this guard does his rounds inside the school. So for all I know is that he walks fast. In any case, I better go to the staircase and wait there. If the guard ends up using the stairs I'm on, I should then be able to hear him or even see him, if so I can just go to a higher floor until he climbs up and leaves, then I can go down the stairs.)

Making my way to the staircase, I go halfway up the third floor and stay there for a few minutes.

(I should actually go up a level and wait on the stairs that lead to the roof if. I don't have to risk the guard coming up behind me that way.)

Plan in mind, I climbed up the stairs until I'm halfway to the roof.

(Ok, this is the third floor, so, if the guard passes here it will be either to check this floor or to go down towards the exit. In both situations I can go down after he leaves and leave from the back side of the school.)

With that, I buckle down and wait, until I could either hear footsteps or see a light from a flashlight.

About ten minutes in, I start hearing tapping on the stairs. I close my eyes and focus on the footsteps. The tapping starts getting progressively stronger...and then, starts to slowly weaken.

(Ok he is leaving. Or he is suddenly walking very silently for some reason.)

I peek over the stair's railing half expecting to see a face staring at me, its eyes wide open and a joker like grin.

(I watched too many horror movies.)

Seeing the stairs empty, I walked down to the third floor to find it empty as well. I then steel myself and start walking down the stairs to the second floor as silently as I could, the bucket under my arm. About halfway towards the second floor, I stop to check whether the guard is near. Finding no one around, I picked up the pace and walked down to the first floor. Reaching the ground floor I crouched down and moved to where I took the bucket from, leaving it back in its original place before heading towards the back of the school.

After reaching a hallway where I could see the fence that led out of the school and no sight of the first guard, I checked the windows. Some of them were actually fused with the frame but some of them could be opened vertically by pushing them.

(My exit is right ahead of me, but I shouldn't start acting sloppy now. I must leave no trace behind, that includes unlocked windows. While there's a good chance that nobody will even realize it, as I said no need to get sloppy now.)

I took a closer look at the window's lock as I kept thinking… And as luck would have it, the lock seemed to have a peculiar look to it.

(An automatically locking mechanism? I need to check this out)

I find the first locked window, unlock it, push the window open, then close it back.

A short 'click' could be heard as the window fitted back into its original place.

(The window can be locked from the outside, nice.)

I unlock the window once more, open it and slide outside. After I got out I closed the window, hearing that satisfying 'click' once again. I then turn around and silently start running towards the fence. Once I was near it I tossed the screwdriver on the other side again, climbed the fence and vaulted over to the other side.

Landing on the other side I take the screwdriver from the ground. I then took off my half mask and removed my hood after I checked my surroundings, then, I broke off into a dead run, sprinting as fast as I could away from the school.

I kept running for about...five minutes? My only target being to avoid people. After finally reaching a distant alleyway, I stop, look back and take a deep breath.

"Ninja mode, off, beep."

I turn around, exit the alley and casually start heading towards my apartment.

(And with that done all that's left to do is… to get ready for tomorrow, oh boy...fun.)

After about thirty minutes, I made it to my apartment.

I pick the keys from under the mat and dust myself off to get rid of some of the dirt I had on me from all the bush hugging, then headed inside and instantly threw all the stuff I was wearing to a bin, then took a bath.

(I still got more clothes to wear and I'll probably be stuck with my school uniform for a while. I could say that I was feeling cold and wore two shirts underneath, but that's about it on clothing.)

After finishing my bath and changing to some new clothes I sit on my chair and turn on the screen of my computer. I look at the time...and give off a heavy sigh.

"Three a.m. I should be able to get four hours of sleep at least."

I let off a yawn, get up from the chair and fall straight on the bed...falling asleep in a matter of seconds...

The computer screen still on, ticking away the minutes to Z-day like a reverse countdown.


	6. Calm? before the storm

1 Day until Z-Day, Morning.

*annoying alarm noises*

...

*annoying alarm noises intensifies*

...

Five minutes later, another alarm starts going off.

*The most annoying sound in the world arrived to provide backup for the annoying alarm noises*

The ear-piercing medley of sounds made me jump on my bed. My phone, the piece of technology responsible for that unholy sound, laying right next to my ear, going off in full volume… I forcefully silenced the alarm while simultaneously glaring at the screen in front of me.

"Ughhhh… who's the idiot that had the bright idea of putting 'that' as an alarm..."

-FOUR HOURS AGO-

Laying on the bed while looking at the alarm's configuration on my phone as I try to decide on an alarm tone.

"There's no way I'll be able to wake up in four hours just from the normal alarm. Sadly, it seems I'll have to resort to some headache inducing methods."

-RIGHT NOW-

"...oh..."

I put my hands on the temples of my head as I tried to massage the headache out of them.

"I was right about waking up at least… and of getting a headache."

I groggily get out of the bed and head towards the bathroom to splash some water to my face in order to wake up…

After almost drowning myself in the sink I head out of the bathroom and sit by my desk before looking at the computer screen.

"Last day of peace huh, or at least it should be if the outbreak starts the same day it did in the anime… though, now that I think about it. Even if it doesn't happen, I'm still in as deep shit as ever."

Shaking the morbid thought out of my head I get up from the chair and get dressed in my uniform so I can head out.

"I'll have to get something to eat on my way to school. I also need to figure out what to do there as I have no plans for today. Probably some last minute physical training. What with Kohta and hiding a weapon at school I've been neglecting it somewhat. Not that one day of training would do much at this point, but the more the merrier...Hmm, I should also decide whether I should try to make contact with the rest of the group without looking like a creeping weirdo... Yeah, good luck with that me."

I put the screwdriver in my bag, so that I don't end up somehow forgetting it home during Z-Day, then pocket the keys and head out of the apartment.

After making a brief stop at the usual convenience store and buying something to eat, I continued making my way towards the school.

"YAWN… ughhh… I'm getting sleepy again. I'll fall asleep in class like this."

On my way to school I decided to keep my eyes open for any signs of unusual disturbances. Sirens blaring, emergency vehicles rushing by, or even a panicking pedestrian, really, anything that could be used as proof for a sign of what is about to come.

"What could be considered a sign though? If I were to meet a shambling corpse, then it would be too late too matter. And if I start seeing cop cars and ambulances sprinting left and right that would also mean that it's too late"

Giving up as fast as I started, I stopped bothering to look for signs of an upcoming zombie apocalypse and picked up my pace.

Once I made my way to school I went to my class and slumped down on my desk.

(There is one more thing I need to figure out, and that is if this whole thing follows the anime timeline of events or the manga.)

I close my eyes, focusing on one small detail I had noticed so far concerning the matter.

(If I remember correctly. Takashi ,in the manga, stayed on the roof when he skipped class. In the anime on the other hand he stayed on the stairs instead. And I've seen him one to many times wasting away at the stairs so far. Plus in the manga he didn't look THAT dejected about Rei. In the anime, he looked much worse. So, considering how dejected he looks right now, along with his predilection of haunting the stairway, it's two points for the anime, and zero for the manga. The last nail that will decide what will eventually happen will be tomorrow. If Takashi meets Morita before the outbreak, then it will probably follow the manga's line of events. If he is on the stairs again and Saya is the one that meets with him, then it will probably follow the anime's course.)

After I stopped pondering about tomorrow. With my eyes still closed, I started to nod off, at least until the bells rang out, indicating that the class is going to start. Forcing me to open my eyes.

(Got to stay awake, can't get in trouble with the teachers again. Even if this might be the last day they can really do crap about it)

What followed is an agonizing hour of fighting off my urge to just hit my head on the desk and go to sleep, until the bells finally rang out again, indicating that the class was over. Many of the other students then got up from their seats and went their own way, be it alone or with their friends. After the class was almost empty I finally got up and left the classroom.

I walked by the vent to make sure it was as I left it last night, then passed by the stairs to see if Takashi was still there. And yep, like clockwork, sitting there, moping about. I'm not gonna bother him though, figured talking to him would return me with nothing again, so I left him be.

(This break is too short for me to go to the gym and do anything worthwhile, so I should wait for the next period's break as it's much longer. I'm also too sleepy to think of doing anything else, so I'll just aimlessly walk around and see if there's something else I can do.)

After strolling about in the school for some time, the bell rang. Signalling me that I have to prepare myself for another hour of trying to keep myself awake. With that cheery thought in head, I trudged back to class...

It was...in the middle of the lesson when I got an idea that I would probably have thought much earlier if my brain was not on a strike at the moment.

(I could just go and hang out with Kohta today...He probably won't mind, and it will help me interact with him on Z-day. Not now though, as I'm going to run some laps at the gym to wake myself up.)

After I decided on my next plan of action I then got back into trying to keep myself awake, while also trying to make it look like I'm actually paying attention to class.

(I just hope the teacher won't ask me anything because I'm hearing jack of what he is saying right now)

And, an hour then passed, with the teacher thankfully ignoring me. So once the lesson was out, I got up, picked up my bag and then headed straight to the gym.

While I was on my way to the gym, I peered into my bag

(Spare shirt, check, water bottle, check. Hmmm… actually, I should bring some extra clothes in my bag tomorrow. Using the excuse that I was planning on going for a run right after school if anybody bothers to ask. I don't want to stay in my school uniform for more than I have to, and I'm sure that the guys don't change clothes in Rika's apartment. Hell, I don't remember if they even actually wash them, as you never see them wearing anything else. Then again, they would probably smell like ass if they didn't, and the Humvee doesn't have the best ventilation system… Actually, didn't Alice pee on Takashi that one time? Yep I'm pretty sure she did, so Takashi should actually do, smell like ass… Maybe that's the reason why they took turns sitting on the roof… pppfft.)

While I found the thought of the humvee smelling like piss funny enough to have to hold myself off from laughing, the students that turned their heads to me after hearing me, did not seem to agree with me… Not that I expected anyone to actually know what I'm thinking about. So, I straightened my jacket, ignored the soon to be dead people and picked up my pace.

(Smooth going there, me.)

Arriving at the empty gym I put my bag down and look at the inside of the gym. My eyes then fell on the banner, the one that two days ago caused me to start freaking out about 'why' I was here.

(It might be because this is the last day before shit hits the fan. Or because yesterday I had a change of pace from my usual routine by hanging out with Kohta. But I don't feel like losing my shit right now… The calm before the storm as they say, no?)

Getting my head into the game, I looked at my phone to make sure that I had enough time to do some laps before the next bell. Nodding to myself after looking at the phone's clock, I then proceeded to put the phone inside my bag and started running around the gym.

(The increase in my heartbeat and blood flow should wake me up. And if not, then I'll probably end up tripping and planting my face on the gym floor. The impact after that will wake me up for sure. Win-win either way.)

Ten minutes in, and I could feel my head beginning to clear up.

(Good, seems to be working. By the time I'll have to head back to class, I'll be wide awake.)

While I was jogging around the gym I started thinking about tomorrow again.

(Tomorrow, same time, I'll probably be running for my life. Or well, running might be an overstatement. If the zombies are blind like they should be, I'll probably be walking very silently rather than running at full speed, unless of course, something catastrophic happens...other than the dead rising to eat to living that is. Hum, At the very least it won't be that hard for me to navigate through the school as long as I'm quiet, and thankfully, being quiet is something I was always good at.

As for fighting, I still pray that the dead do have fragile skulls, rather than Takashi and co being able to swing with the force of a truck. If the worst comes to shove, I'll just focus on knocking them down and then escaping. If they are as slow and dumb as they looked in the anime and manga, I'll have more than enough time to act after they get disoriented once they hit the ground.

Countering shouldn't be that hard either. As long as they don't grab me I can probably outmanoeuvre and trip them up. If I can, for example, grab one by the outside part of their arm, I should be able to just yank it away from me, or even move behind it without letting it block me off by 'hugging' me… Well, all of my musings and planning only counts if the zombies actually have the same attributes the anime portrayed them to have. Otherwise, I'm about to be caught unprepared and I'll probably end up very dead, very fast.)

As I finished ruminating about the very close future, I heard the bells ring, signalling that the next class was about to start. I stopped jogging, and headed to the bathroom after picking up my spare shirt from my bag. After I fished changing shirts, I headed back to class.

(The next couple of lessons have short breaks so I could go find Kohta and see what he's up to. I just hope that he won't see me as a walking ticket to a gun range now.)

The next two lessons passed by normally, with nothing unusual happening other than the occasional jackass making fun of how I was spaced out yesterday after PE.

And after the lessons finally ended, I went towards Kohta's class, which I now knew the location of as he told me so yesterday. In order to see if he's there.

(Great, now I'm feeling nervous again.)

I was halfway down the stairs and was about to go to the hallway where Kohta's homeroom is when I noticed a purple haired girl walking on the hallway in front of me.

(Saeko?… Scratch my previous worries. NOW I'm nervous… Fuck, what do I do? I can't just walk up to her and be all like 'Hur-Dur Ello Lets Be,Friends, Because, I KnoW YoUr SeCrEt.. Yeah, I can see that happening. Damn it, who knew it could be so hard...speaking to people you never thought you'd meet)

"Hey you're blocking the way. Move"

(At best she will think that I'm some kind of creep, and at worst she'll go all sadistic yandere on me without the dere. Well, the anime portrayed her as a kind, cool and collected person even if she was partly faking it. So I don't think I'll be having her bokken landing on my head… At least not here, with other people around. Not sure what will happen to me outside of school if I botch my charisma roll though.)

"HEY STUPID ARE YOU DEAF!?"

My shoulders jerked upward after a shout from behind startled me, causing me to slightly jump in place. I turned around to see who else but the other person I'm the most nervous at interacting with, Saya… and she looked royally pissed. Her hands were folded under her chest and her face was locked in a rictus of fury with a piercing glare.

(Shit)

"Sorry didn't mean to hog the stairs." I moved to the side as I apologised.

"Ughhh."

That's all she said as she stormed past me.

(Well, I fucked up. At least I met Saya… ? Though now I wish I hadn't. Good job, me.)

Looking at the hallway again, I see Saya entering a classroom and Saeko was nowhere to be seen.

(Well, Saeko is gone and Saya is in the same class as Kohta. I really don't want to go in there right now.)

So, I go down the stairs, turn the other way around, and head towards the exit.

(That went smashingly...)

After making my way outside, I sat on the nearest bench while taking a small bun wrapped in plastic out of my jacket's pocket. I have not eaten yet, as on the big lunch break, I was at the gym.

While eating, I aimlessly scan my surroundings for something to get my mind off the day, and as 'luck' would have it, I spot Rei with Hihashi being all couple-like nearby. Then, I turn my head around and look back at the school, scanning the school to look for the place where Takashi usually sits, moping.

(Yep, there he is...and I think he is staring at those two right now?…My condolences dude… But I still think that you're a fucking lucky bastard.)

I then looked back at the couple.

(Still, I know that Rei is still interested in Takashi. So what the fuck is she doing?)

Finishing my bun I get up and head back towards my class.

(Girls are fucking weird I tell ya.)

After making my way to class and slumping on my desk, I took a look outside.

(It's funny though… Do I really need a god-damn zombie apocalypse to somehow manage and interact with the rest of the cast? I really do suck at this socializing thing don't I?)

Sighing at my inability to 'man up' as the tryhards would say, I turn my head back to focus on the blackboard and decide to not do anything particular for the rest of the school day. With that in mind, I stayed at my desk with a glassy look in my eyes until all classes ended. Until the final bell rang out, signaling the end of school.

I got up from my chair and walked out of the class, passed by the vent again to make sure it hadn't been spotted, and then headed towards the exit, when an idea hit me.

(Oh wait, I could call Kohta and ask if he wants to hang out.) I take my phone out, but instantly I hit a roadblock.

(Right, I never asked for his number. It would do no good even if I did though, as my phone has no sim card in it… ughhh)

I put the phone back in my pocket and continued walking. After reaching the main gates, I looked back at the school.

(Tomorrow, I must either be with Takashi's team or be dead.)

With that morbid thought in my head, I turned around and walked out of school.

*HALF AN HOUR LATER*

Not long after I arrived home I was sitting on my chair, looking at an online map for a sports shop.

(I do have some cash left over that was meant for food that I can spend on something else. So, if I go on a last shopping spree today and tomorrow nothing happens, then I can officially say I'm royally fucked.)

The idea that I might have got the date wrong then passed by my mind.

(No, I know I got the date right. I remember the exact date of the outbreak, or at least the day when the zombies reached Fujimi High, because I used that same date on one of the games I played as a starting date for the ingame outbreak as well. The date of the outbreak was actually shown on the TV Takashi and co used to see how the media reacted to the zombies in the staff room, so I should have the correct date down.)

I get up from the chair and print a list of the things I want to buy, along with a map of the city for the last leg of my preparations.

(Bandages, a better, more comfortable bag, a navigation map and food that will last at least until tomorrow night. The school does not have a strict regulation on bags, so I'll be able to take the better bag with me tomorrow. And by better, I mean a bag that does not have any metal parts dangling about and I can firmly secure on my back, so it will not move around when I run or climb.

I'll just use the excuse that I was planning to go Parkour running right after school, so no one would raise an eyebrow as to why I brought a different bag, along with a change of clothes and bandages. I'll also put the field hunting boots and my gloves in it so I can wear them after the panic starts.

Now, the bandages I can buy from any pharmacy, and use them as minor protection on my hands from scratches or to avoid any infected blood from getting into a cut.

While never shown, I don't actually know if only the saliva is infectious. Saeko, being a close-range fighter, and 'occasionally' going bat shit crazy on the zombies, should have had blood splashed into her mouth or eyes more than once. Yet, nothing happened to her, thankfully. So maybe it's only whatever is in their mouth that can spread the virus? Perhaps it's because the dead don't have any blood circulation so there is a chance that the infection is only in their head? Uhh, anyway, I'm wasting daylight now.

A map is obviously needed for when Takashi and Rei get split up from the rest of the group, so we can decide on a meeting point. In the anime, they picked the police station but met on the bridge that linked the two parts of the city together by sheer dumb luck. And from how the characters moved afterward, I can say the police station is on the other part of the city, over the bridges.)

After pocketing whatever cash I had left, I took my keys and headed out. The sun was still out, the day looking as great as ever, for now.

I start jogging towards my destination, occasionally picking up speed as a last minute exercise.

First, I stopped by a sports store to buy a bag. After a little time spent searching, I ended up with a black tear resistant bag that had no metal parts other than the zippers, along with two extra belts that went around the lower part of the chest and waist. I asked the employee if I could wear the bag to test it out.

The moment the employee nods at me with a 'yes', I put on the bag, checking if it fits me and how easy it is to get something from the side straps without taking it off, along with how much it shakes if I run in place...and yes, the employee did get confused when he looked at a teenager play-jogging in his store.

(This is big enough to hold all the books I have, along with my boots, a spare change of clothes or two and some extras, like a phone charger, a small pistol, or something of that size. The two sides got belts that will be perfect to strap on a bigger gun or whatever close range weapon I might end up with. The fact that I can also grab whatever is on the sides without taking the bag off is a definite plus. Now, the extra 'outside' pockets where I could fit ammo, clips, or other need to get fast materials like bandages and such sold it to me. Me likes this bag.)

I make a thumbs up motion to the employee that he returns with an awkward smile. He also asked me if I wanted to buy a compass, flashlight and a swiss army knife, as I said that I will be going on hiking trips with this bag. Which I'll admit, made me feel stupid that I didn't think of buying em myself.

(Thanks mister employee.)

After taking off the bag, buying it along with the extras and then putting it back on, I head off for my other two targets. That swiss knife cost me like half the cash I had left though. At least it does seem to have a crapload of things on it … is that, a magnifying glass?)

Second place I stopped by, my favorite convenience store. Where I bought enough food to last me until tomorrow night.

(Last time I get to visit this place. The poor employees will probably have a hard time tomorrow with all these glass walls slash windows. Good luck, you'll need it)

After wishing the clerks good luck in my head, I start heading towards a pharmacy. On the way, I also passed by an electronics store that I looked up on the net.

(I was thinking of buying a solar power bank but the H.A.N.E, or High Altitude Nuclear Explosion to the layman, will probably fry whatever circuitry it has in it. While a H.A.N.E, after reading about it online, should not be as lethal as it was in the anime, I cannot risk it. Maybe the explosion will be near us or maybe H.A. in this world are more effective. Whatever the case, I should spend what cash I got left on something that will be useful at a hundred present rate.)

Leaving the electronics shop behind, I stopped jogging and started casually walking until I reached the pharmacy.

Going inside, I asked the clerk to give me two rolls of white bandage. After I finished paying for them, I left the shop to find a nearby place to sit down.

(What else could I bring with me to school… that wouldn't look too weird at least?)

I then imagine myself showing up to school in a fully plated, heavy knight armor, great sword and crossbow attached.

"I was aiming to parkour with extra weight for a challenge."

(Yea right.)

I chuckle to myself, get up and set my course back towards my apartment.

As I was now walking, instead of jogging, it was taking me way longer to head back, and the sun was slowly losing its bright shine, signaling that the day was slowly ending.

(Last day is almost over… I expected that I would be freaking out like a squirrel on coffee right about now. Yet, I'm weirdly calm for some reason. I just hope I won't wake up with the outbreak banging on my door. Maybe I should go and keep my favorite night guard some company today as well… Yeah not a good idea. Don't want to be sleepy tomorrow. Although I doubt the adrenaline will let me feel sleepy even if I don't sleep at all tonight.)

Looking at the town around me, I couldn't find anything amiss, nothing to tell me that tomorrow the world will go to shit.

(Wish I had an emp resistant yacht with an unlimited power supply, a fridge with infinite food and an unending collection of video games… heh.) I chuckle to myself once more.

Once I reached my apartment I headed inside, placed my new bag on my bed and filled it with what I will need for tomorrow, along with some books to test out how silent the bag was under heavy load. After spending a good hour testing the bag and finding it to be worth the cash I paid for it, I took it off, opened it and looked at what I have packed.

The clothes I packed inside were a jacket with a hood, a long-sleeved shirt and a pair of pants that would be comfortable to do stunts with. Along with a change of underwear and socks.

(After I end up with the team, hopefully, I might be able to switch into more tear resistant clothes like leather. But for now, this will do.)

Feeling that I spent enough time fussing about the bag, I left it on the bed and headed to my computer.

Looking at all the files I had saved in it and recalling all the time I spent preparing, along with all the decisions I have made…Yea...not good for my mental health

(Come on, I'll be fine. I can climb walls, I can swing wooden sticks very strongly and I can shoot with metal sticks pretty accurately. I'll be fine… for the initial part of the outbreak at least.)

Truth is though, I didn't spend too much time researching on how to survive long term. Maybe I didn't really care? Maybe I didn't think that I would survive that long? It didn't matter now. I made my choices and the curtain was about to rise, the play, about to start.

(You know what? fuck it. Tonight, I'm going to watch movies, I'm giving myself a break.)

I pick a list of zombie movies that would last up until midnight. I felt a bit stupid that i wanted to watch zombie movies right before the actual zombie apocalypse but ehh… fuck that too.

After hitting the play button I slump in my chair and fold my arms.

(Wish I had some popcorn.)

Letting the next few hours slip by me unnoticed. I watched what will soon become my reality. After that, I ate my last meal for today, brushed my teeth and went to sleep. And for what might be the last time, I feel asleep in my apartment. Right as the clock hit Midnight.

Z-Day.


	7. At the gates

*Same old annoying alarm noises*

...

I was sitting on my bed with my phone in my hands, looking at it as it kept ringing.

"Woke up before the alarm sounded off... Guess I'm a little on edge after all huh."

The shutters on my windows were half closed, what little sunlight that invaded the desolate room was not doing the room any favors either. I stretch and close my phone, then head towards the bathroom to wash up.

After splashing some water on my face I look at myself in the mirror.

"Huh, I should be looking much worse knowing what is going to happen in a few hours."

I return to the living room and open my computer, sitting on the chair in the process.

DayZ

"Seven AM, going to leave earlier today. It would be really lame if I got caught by the outbreak while I was heading to school. Shame that the stores only open after ten here, I had second thoughts about buying a solar power bank… But ehh, not that I have any money left. Oh well, what's done is done"

I spin my chair around till I'm looking at what I prepared last night.

"Bag" I get up, reach for the bag and then open it. Doing a last check to make sure I was not missing anything.

"Extra clothes, check. Swiss knife, check. Map, check. Compass, check. Flashlight, check. Screwdriver, check. Bandages, check. Food for today, check. Yacht keys... One can always dream."

Closing the bag, I throw it around my shoulder, take my keys and walk next to the tower of my computer.

"My friend, I'm afraid that's all the time we got left." I then unplug the computer, open the case and take out the hard drives, go to the sink, open it and throw them in. About twenty seconds later I picked them back up, thoroughly soaked, and walked to the front door of my apartment, opening it.

"Last time that I see this place. If the outbreak happens, I won't be returning here for obvious reasons. If the outbreak won't happen, I'll have to go and find myself an abandoned island, then make friends with the trees and monkeys, or face debt charges…or worse. I really dug myself into a goddamn hole didn't I. Maybe I'll go find Saya and ask her to call me stupid"

I shake my head and turn to glance at my 'house'.

( Today my future is going to change to either running from zombies, or running from the Yakuza... I find running from zombies more appealing right now to be honest.)

I walk out my apartment and follow the street towards the school. To make my future a fait accompli, I also threw my apartment keys to the first trash bin I ran into, then threw the hard drives in a different trash bin.

I then stood over the bin for a few seconds.

"A moment of silence for my two terabyte 'homework' folder."

I let out a small chuckle and hurry on my way. To be honest, I didn't feel safe on the streets right now. I wanted to reach the school as fast as possible.

"Won't it be ironic if I end up being the undead that is banging on the school gates?"

Apparently my brain did not appreciate the joke, as I got the sudden urge to start jogging, so I can reach the school faster. So all it really took for me to be in front of the school gates was fifteen minutes, half of my usual commute time.

After reaching my class and leaving my bag on the desk's side that was facing the wall, I sat down. I then spent several seconds staring outside, thinking what exactly I could say if anybody asked why I put all that crap inside my bag.

(Parkour might explain the change of clothes and bandages, but the amount of food inside along with the swiss knife and flashlight seems more reasonable if I was going camping or something. So...parkour camping? Or I can say that I was aiming to do a marathon, a very long marathon.)

I then turn my sight back towards the class, looking at the kids that were chatting among themselves.

(Wonder if any of them will survive.)

That was all I was able to think before the bell rang, with the teacher coming in a few minutes later ,causing the class to quiet down.

(Sorry, teach. But today my eyes will be stuck on the gate. I don't even care if it gets me expelled today. It's not like I will be staying in this school either way.)

As the class went on, all I did was indeed stare at the front gate.

(I will not only have to find a way to be out of class to check where Takashi will be at while Teshima gets bit, but I must also be able to get back in my class before the panic starts. As I really don't want to be in the hallway when every single student in this school will have the bright idea to run in a panic like a headless chicken.)

The first class passed normally. Nobody appeared at the gates and nothing seemed to be out of place.

Walking out of the class I passed by the vent, giving it a quick glance. Making sure it was still unbolted before returning back to class for the next period.

(The whole thing is supposed to happen in the middle of a class... but I don't know which one. The undead guy on the gate was dressed like a businessman, so he probably got attacked on his way to work and ended up here. If he was attacked after he was in his office, he would probably have stayed there as a zombie as he would not be smart or mobile enough to wander outside. Other than by falling outside a window or something. Yet, other than looking like he just pulled nine all-nighters straight he didn't look hurt, the giant chunk of his back missing excluded of course.)

And with that thought, the bell rang again, signaling the second lesson's start.

(If it's going to happen, then just happen dammit, waiting for it is not doing any good for my mental health.)

As the second lesson was in session, I could not help but start thinking what I was going to do if the outbreak didn't happen.

(I wonder if I'm able to use planes and ships to travel alone at my age. 'I' was sent here by my school as an exchange student based on what I saw in the school documents that I had with me.

Maybe...I should have learned how to drive a boat. Better chance of escaping people by sea rather than land, add that japan is a frigging island. Hm, Most boats do have a steering wheel though, and I do know some basics from playing video games. Like that the throttle can look like the one that planes got and...well that's all I actually know, can you hot-wire a boat?)

A loud thud jerked me out of my thoughts, the noise actually came from right in front of me, from the window beside me. Looking at it, I saw that it had some chalk dust on it. Looking down, I saw chalk, broken in pieces.

I turn my head to see the teacher glaring at me.

(Great, just, great. This is exactly what I need right now)

The teacher must have been bored of doing his lesson because he asked me to stand up and go to him, before he started an annoying monologue about… I don't know, I didn't really care about it to actually sit and listen to what the teacher had to say to be honest.

Between the teacher's loud monologue, the smirking students and my own state of mind, I had just about enough.

"I need to go to the bathroom."

That's all I said as I walked out of the class.

(That… might not have been my best idea, but I'll make it work. I can still keep a watch on the front gate from somewhere else. If the dead man appears I don't think the teacher will have a lot of time for chewing me out before the panic starts.)

With that thought in mind, I headed towards a hallway with a clear view of the front gates, that was also near the stairs I usually see Takashi at...

About thirty minutes passed with my eyes locked at the front gate. I had long since stopped thinking, as it was only going to give me a headache in the end…

Until, something happened… not the zombies sneaking on my ass, thankfully. Loud footsteps coming from my right. I turned my head to see Saya walking with her usual pissed off attitude. She just stormed passed me while stomping her feet, I think she didn't even realise I was there.

(Wonder what set her off this time.)

I then turned to my left, looking at her as she stomped away.

(She would pester Takashi that he was skipping class, yet completely ignore me. I guess she only bothers people she likes huh.)

And a few seconds later, it hit me.

(Wait, didn't Saya also skip class to speak to Takashi in the anime? And the way she just stormed off now… she looked like she just had an argument.)

(SHIT!)

I spring myself off the wall and break into a sprint towards where I just saw Saya walk away from… the stairs.

Stopping at the top of the stairs, I see none other than Takashi. Staring at the gate. And...I knew what he was looking at, I knew this scene by heart. The scene that has become etched into my head and only got reinforced by the time I spent panicking over what's to come...

'It' has begun.

I looked at the gate myself, for a final confirmation.

(The dead. They are at the gates.)

I did a full u-turn and started running to my class as fast as I could. While I knew I had time before the panic started, as Takashi had enough time to rush to Rei. I just felt that I need to be fast, very fast.

Reaching my class I slam the door open, startling some of the students that were seated near the door. The teacher looked at me with the scowl of the century, and some students started giggling again. Ignoring everything, I move quickly to the back of the class, grabbing my desk and pulling it further towards the back, pretty much shoving it into the corner of the classroom.

The teacher narrowed his eyes as he looked at me.

"We will have a chat once the class is over" Was all he said before he continued his lesson.

(No we won't...)

It was weird, but all the anxiety I have felt up to this moment since waking up today had vanished. The moment I saw the first zombie back there, confirmed what was going to happen and what I was going to do.

I even felt some relief to be honest. Relief that everything I did so far was not in vain… or that I will not end up in jail or the bottom of Tokyo Bay…

While I was busy preparing myself the speakers in my classroom crackled alive.

(The panic is going to start any minute now.)

I looked at the speaker that was installed on the ceiling, near the front exit of the class.

A voice, probably a teacher's, started ordering the students to evacuate, only to be suddenly cut off. Then, the speaker once again went live. Only this time, it was broadcasting the teacher's last moments as he began to panic in the AV room, shouting for help. Until he let out a scream, and then silence.

Looking back at the teacher, I see him frozen in place, the chalk on his desk slowly rolling towards a free fall.

(So, this is the class I was actually in.)

Was all I managed to think as the chalk hit the ground, smashing into bits, acting as the signal for everybody to go bat shit crazy.

You know in the anime you never think about it, but the sudden change from dead silence to everybody screaming at once is deafening. Like the school itself had started screaming along with the students. Morbid as it is, I couldn't think of it as anything else but the ringing of a lunch bell for the zombies.

Pandemonium ensued in the class as the students and the teacher alike started running towards the door, smashing into each other. Each one trying to scream louder than the one next to them.

And just like that, the class was empty. Only me, myself and I… and the screams from beyond the wall.

I slowly got up from my desk, picked up my bag, strapped it on my back as well as I could, then headed to the opened door, and closed it.

I turn around and look at the class.

(I will check if I can find anything of use here while the sea of death passes outside my front door.)

I go over some of the bigger bags, hoping to find something that might be of use…

Sadly, most of the bags had nothing interesting inside, aside from one that had a cell phone which I picked up and turned to a silent, non vibration mode.

(Taking out the battery to remove the SIM might lock it behind a password, so I should just keep it like this, in case I need loud distraction later.)

I pocket the extra cell phone, then grab the nearest chair and head to the door, opening it slowly.

I peek outside at both directions of the hallway. Seeing the hallway empty, with no blood splatters or bodies littering the floor I opened the door completely and then, with chair in hand I went to the vent. I place the chair under the vent, take the screwdriver out of the side pocket of my bag and unscrew the last screw that was holding the vent cover. With nothing holding it in place, the vent once more fell to the side, hanging by the last bolt. Reaching inside I grab the handle of the bat I painstakingly hid.

(All this to hide a bat...why can't I be in America? Sneak myself a minigun and rocket launcher...)

Bat in hand, I looked around me before pulling it out of the vent completely, then stepped down the chair. With the screwdriver back in the side pocket I once more scan my surroundings. I could still hear screams all around me. but they seemed different now, they were not the screams of panic. They were screams of fear...

The hallway was still empty, clean. Yet when I looked outside the window I saw a massacre in full display. People getting thrown to the ground, pinned down by groups of walking corpses, fresh blood being splattered all over the place. While the ones still alive used others as bait so they could escape. Worst of all were the people that died, only for them to come back and bite whoever was unlucky enough to care for them.

I let a huge breath out of my nose and walk towards the end of the hallway then look over the corner.

The hallway I was looking at now had a staircase in the middle, linking the floors together. Next to the staircase, I could see a student on his knees, next to another student who was on the floor. I could only see half of the body of the one that was on the floor, with the rest of it probably being on the staircase, which I could not see from the angle I was looking from.

I did not need to see the other half though, the pink line of flesh I could see going from the fallen student's stomach to the mouth of the one that was kneeling on top of him was enough to make me understand what I was looking at.

I was prepared to see some gruesome stuff from here on out, but I guess the first time is never easy. The fact that the first gruesome thing I wind up seeing is a corpse chewing on somebody's guts ain't helping either.

(Good thing I haven't eaten anything yet. My stomach would be throwing one hell of a party right now if I did… Still how should I call these things anyway? I have been jumping around names until now… Maybe I should just call them 'them' like the cast?...Hmm, nahh, too weird to use...I will stick with corpses, for now at least.)

Hitting myself in the forehead with my knuckles, I try to focus on my next plan of action.

(When Takashi was on the roof, it was already crawling with corpses. Meaning the corpses must have already overrun all the lower floors to also be up there.

And seeing how the staircase is being used as a dining table right now. It could mean that that has already happened. The reason why the hallway I'm in is clean is because nobody had a reason to run here, or didn't manage to, for now anyway.)

I go over the corner and walk towards the snacking student, his chewing getting louder as I get closer...

After I closed in enough to still be out of leaping range but have a clear view of the stairs I stopped.

(The stairs are clear, only these two are here. I guess the one on the floor tried to climb back up and got caught. Or he was running down and bumped into the one that is now snaking on him, seeing that his legs point towards the stairs and he's belly up.

No matter, now that I got only two potential walking corpses here, it's the best time to check if a hit to the head is enough to stop them for good. Or if it'll just get them pissed off and turn me into a lunchbox.)

With that in mind, I lift my bat slightly and grab the handle with both hands as I silently side-step towards the kneeling corpse. Once I was within swinging range of the corpse, I lifted my bat higher to the side of my head. And with a slight turn of my upper body, I swung down...

With a rather loud thud, the bat makes contact with the head of the chewing corpse, sending it sideways and then flat against the wall, smashing its head from both sides.

The body stays like that for a few seconds before sliding forward, falling down and stopping once and for all.

I turn my head and look at the second body that was on the floor.

(No time to celebrate yet, this guy will probably get up as well.)

I take a few steps back and wait. All while looking around me to make sure the sound did not attract anything. A few moments later, the second body started twitching, and then rose to a sitting position.

(Alright, now to test out just how smart these things are...I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm letting this one get up...I must be going mental, because I'm not freaking out right now.)

Using my bat I give it a quick poke in the back of the head and quickly take a big step back.

(Nothing, no reaction. Just like Saya theorized.)

That experiment over with, I started my next one.

I lift my foot and then bring it back down on the floor with enough strength to make an audible sound, then walk a few feet away so I'm not in the way.

The sitting corpse reacts to the sound as it lethargically turns its head to where I was a few seconds ago. It then slowly starts stumbling to a standing position and shambles to where I had struck the floor,then passes it and bumps into the window.

(And they are either blind, or insanely stupid. It just moved past where the sound originated and into the window beyond it. Meaning it just picked the direction the sound came from and followed it until it found an obstacle to hit into… or bite into.)

There were more things I wanted to test out, but I didn't want to push my luck. Not now at least.

I silently walk close to the zombie that was now making out with the window and take a swing at the back of its head with only one hand, my good one.

The impact of the bat causes the window to crack and the zombie to stumble backward onto its own guts that were on the floor, causing it to slip and fall down. It then started shambling about on the floor.

(Not dead, but it does seem to have trouble getting up.)

I jerk forward and bring the bat down to the dead guy's head, causing a splatter of blood to appear on the floor and him to finally stop moving.

(I still don't understand how they could track Takashi and his team later in the anime. They were actively chasing them in some cases. Maybe they can actually sense heat like Kohta theorized? So after linking a sound with a heat source they will go after the heat source with a fervor instead?)

Scratching my head, I turn to the stairs, to see that trouble has arrived. The sound of my bat smashing against the second corpse must have attracted some of the corpses from downstairs.

(They are dumb enough to get easily tricked, yet they are smart enough to understand that a sound came from a floor above them, to find the stairs and then climb them without falling over… ughhh...or they were already on the lower part of the stairs..)

I sigh in my head and move away from the stairs. Then begin walking down the clear hallway, with each of my steps making splashing noises.

Must have been the blood I stepped on as my shoes were starting to get rather noisy as I walked.

(Right. Time to change footwear.)

Still standing, I take my shoes off using my feet, bend over, grab them and throw them in the direction from which I came from causing any corpse that was heading towards my way to turn around.

I continued walking with only my socks for a bit until I was far enough from where I threw my shoes to feel safe. After taking a look around, I take off my bag, unzip it and take the plastic bag that had my boots in them along with my gloves.

(Boots over stuffy shoes any day.)

I take the boots out of the plastic bag and wear them. After folding the plastic bag I put it back in, closing the bag and strapping it back on my back.

Then I put on the gloves and test my grip on the bat.

(Not bad. Now to figure out what to do next.)

I glanced at the window to see the sun was still out, going strong. Then continue walking straight in the hallway.

(Takashi and Rei will stay up on the roof until the sun begins to set. Meaning that I need to find a way to survive until then, as the group will not meet until sunset. I could try to find Saeko or Kohta. Both are still alive wandering the school right now, with Saeko probably going ham on any poor meatbag that approaches her and Kohta being needled by Saya.

Now, the only time Saeko was shown before the group met up, she was going down a staircase, meaning she's either on the first or second floor right now. She then would end up in the nurse's office that is on the first floor, so she probably went from the second floor to the first. Saya and Kohta are also running around from what looked like probably the second or third floor.)

While I was in thought I heard moaning coming from in front of me. Two corpses were shambling towards me, or towards my direction at least.

I narrow my eyes and put my back against the wall on the side, while holding my bat from each corner with one hand so I can use it as a shield if one of them lunged at me.

As the two corpses shambled passed me, they didn't even seem to realize that I was there.

After they moved away, I got off the wall and started walking.

(This is not good, I'm going to get surrounded if I let these two walk and find more of these things ahead of me.)

Realization in mind, I stop in my tracks and turn around, then walk to the two shambling corpses in front of me…

Using both hands, I take a swing on the side of the head of the one that was near the wall causing its head to be smashed between the bat and the wall, making it fall down with a thud.

The second one, hearing the sound, moans and turns around to me, only to be met with a sideways swing from a bat to the side of its face before it could completely turn around.

Stumbling, it moves a few feet forward and then falls down. Moments later, it puts its hands in a push up motion as it tries to get up. I walk up to it and stomp my foot on its back, causing it to fall flat again, and in a quick motion, I raise my bat and swing it with a golf swing-like motion on the downed corpse, blood once again painting the floor red.

(Well, I suppose this verifies that they are more brittle than a normal human, or I swing like a truck like the rest of the cast.)

That over with, I turn back and head down the hallway again.

Turning over the corner after the hallway ended, I found another flight of stairs. To my surprise, they were empty, or more precisely the corpses there were all dead , like dead-dead.

Closing in on the staircase I hit the floor with my foot trying to make sure that they are actually dead and won't try to surprise jump scare me. None of them reacted, but still just in case, I took a long way around them.

I head on the stair's railing and lean on over it, looking down in the process.

(If Saeko had passed through here, then I'm too late. In the anime the first floor is like a dance floor full of dead people in the early hours.)

I give an annoyed sigh.

(I can't risk it, I will have to go through them just to check 'if' Saeko went on the first floor or not.)

I leave the bat on the floor and lean on the railing even more, trying to look up this time.

"Nope, can't see jackshit."

(Can't see anything from here, but I don't have much of a choice, I need to pick my poison. This hallway leads to a dead end, going down is just stupid, going back is pointless as the stairs there had corpses, moving ones. So the only way to go is, up.)

I push myself back, pick up the bat and start going up the empty stairs.

Thankfully I met no resistance going up the stairs. While blood and guts were splattered all over the place, that was all there was here. Nothing that would like to check how warm my insides were , are around.

I reached the top of the staircase and checked both directions of the hallway.

The third floor had some unwelcome guests scattered around.

(Most of the corpses are kneeling down and seem to be occupied with eating, so I should be able to walk past them.)

I was about to move to the right side, as it seemed to have less of them, when on the window of the opposite building, I saw two figures.

(Pink hair on a face that is probably frowning and a chubby guy probably looking depressed.)

I smile to myself and turn to look at the hallway that would make me cross paths with them,the left one…

My smile disappeared when I realized which part of the hallway I had to go through.

(Of course, it had to be the one that had more of them… But I can't miss this chance. I might not get another one.)

Steeling myself, I take a deep breath and start moving down the corpse filled hallway, which was made a lot worse by the fact that it also had moving ones…

So, I kept sidestepping to a corpse free wall, waiting for the ones that got too close to pass by before continuing.

(I am a ninja, I am a ninja, I am a ninja. If I get spotted I am a dead ninja.)

Everything was going fine and I was about to be out of the corpse-filled hallway. Until a corpse had the sudden urge to just do a full turn around and walk right into me.

The moment it was too close for comfort I didn't even think. I jumped back hitting my back against the window, and swung...In the worst direction I could have.

The bat impacted the thing's head and the thing's head impacted the nearby lockers as the impact of the bat made it turn around once more and end up in a lunging fall into the lockers, in other words, a lot of noise.

(I just dun an fucked up.)

In a split second, before the corpses could realise that the dinner bell had just rang, I bent my body forward, so their arms won't be able to easily get a hold of me, and break into a sprint. Thankfully, there were only a couple of them left between me and the end of this damn infested hallway.

I picked the first route I saw to be obstacle-free at that moment and started running. A few steps later, I see one of them blocking my way. It was far enough for me to change direction, so I just ran past it after swerving to the left.

Problem is, I was now running next to the wall on my left so I could only swerve to the right. Which would be a bad idea unless I wanted to end up running into one of these things. Before long, another one was blocking my way, this time I was unable to swerve past it. So I held my bat on each side with my hands and smashed it sideways under its armpit. Ducking my head and using my forearm to push its arm away from me so it could not grab me as it stumbled to the right.

With that one now out of the way, there was only one of them left in front of me. My bat was already in a position for a swing, so I grabbed the handle with both my arms and swung for the things head. Causing it to fly to the left and land face first into the windowed wall.

With the hallway in front of me now hostile free, I stop running and quickly look back. Every single one of them was now walking towards me. I then turn my head forward and start walking silently, turning over the next corner a few moments later.

In this hallway there were not as many of the walking corpses. But the few that were here, were heading towards my direction as well.

Undeterred, I continued walking forward silently. Side stepping out of the way of any of the shambling corpses, until I could see Kohta waving at me, with Saya behind him, giving Kohta the stink eye.

(Saya and Kohta must have heard the commotion too. Lucky for me, that made them wait instead of picking up speed.)

Heading towards the two I raise my bat and wave at them. After reaching them I speak up.

"Good to see you're still alive commando." I say in a low tone.

"Y...yea...glad to see you're also still alive from…whatever this is."

I then turned my sight to Saya, who was now eyeing me, still with a frown. I sigh and look around.

The ones behind me were flocking to where I had my little accident, so we were safe from them, for now at least. And, from what I could see, there weren't any hungry corpses in front of us either.

"Ummm this...is Takagi" Kohta says, introducing me to the scowling pinkette.

"Did you get bit?" She asks with a sharp tone.

(That is the first thing she tells me? Not even a goddamn 'Hi, nice to meet you person I yelled at yesterday'. Not that I expected anything else from her to be honest.)

"Actually, that's a good question." I answer as I start checking myself for bites or any other wounds.

In the heat of the moment, it could be possible that I got bit, but did not feel it.

After checking myself. It thankfully did not seem to be the case.

"No bites" I look back up at the two of the main cast...

The three of us then spent a couple of awkward seconds looking at each other before deciding to move out.

"Wait, You… aren't you the idiot who was spacing out on the stairs yesterday, the one blocking my way? " Saya speaks up as we start moving, her eyes narrowed.

(Me and my big mouth...)

"Yeah… that would be me." I scratch the back of my head while letting out a dry laugh.

"...Ughhh" Was all she said as she shook her head and walked past me...Me and Kohta following behind her.

(Deja-vu… Maybe going on the first floor and hoping to find Saeko before becoming somebody's lunch was a better idea after all.)


	8. Skipping school

"So they only react to sounds?" Kohta asks in a low tone.

"Yep, they are blind and seem to ignore physical contact with inanimate objects, they might be able to sense heat though. As from what I saw, they seem to realize when they have grabbed a human and they are also able to home in on a running person after getting their initial 'lock on' too... even if that 'lock on' doesn't seem to last very long. As they lose interest pretty fast, and get distracted even faster. I'm just hypothesizing about that though, I didn't have much of a chance to test it out, nor do I have a death wish to experiment how long it will take them till they would lose interest in chasing me, especially when I'm in a closed space." I say as I look back at Kohta.

"I see, that would explain why we were able to just walk around them then." Kohta nods while he keeps speaking quietly.

"Also kind of obvious but, these things are, well, dead" I say with a deadpan look on my face.

"Huh, dead? Don't be ridiculous, if they are dead then why are they still walking around?" Saya butts in with a sharp and rather loud voice.

"I don't know, but you have seen them? I might not be that particularly versed in human biology, but what I do know is that you can't be considered to be very alive if you're chewing your own ripped off arm, half of your back is missing and you are dragging your own guts on the floor. Also Takagi, could you pleeaaase... talk just a biiiit more quietly?" I turn my head to Saya with a pleading look.

I tried to be as polite and non provocative as I could. And obviously, I failed. This is Saya we're talking about after all.

Saya frowns, puffs her cheeks and answers with a rather loud voice, again.

"And who are you to tell me what to do? And why did you have us stop in this classroom in the first place?"

Right now we were in an empty classroom, as I asked the other two for a 'stop' after I saw them trying to hide behind a couple of lockers when they spotted a couple of corpses 'staring' at our direction. I could have explained how the corpses act right then and there. But I had the strong feeling that Saya would not be able to help herself and would end up with some loud, snarky remark after my explanation.

So, planning ahead for that, I picked an empty classroom in hopes of somewhat soundproofing Saya's outbursts, as she kept speaking loud enough to make every single deadhead turn our direction.

"Ughhh...forget it, I am not here to antagonize you. Kohta and I will check the door. And if it's clear I will signal with my hand so we can move out. We should try to keep the noise and chatter to the minimum after we get out of this room." I say and get up from the chair.

"And who made you the boss anyway?" Saya 'asks' as she silently looked away from me.

Ignoring Saya, I started moving towards the class door.

(God, she might seem cute and all with her tsundere act in the anime. But the fact that all I get from her is tsun and no dere is making me want to start chewing a desk. I had to deal with one too many corpses already, because she was being too loud.

Uhhh, focus, got to keep myself focused. She might act like a total stuck up bitch right now, but she is not a bad person, I hope. And, I also have to make sure Kohta won't end up dead before he gets his custom-made nail gun thingy.)

Going to the door, I cleared my mind and slowly opened and peeked through the door.

(Right side has two of them standing up and three on their knees munching on some unlucky bastard.

Left side has only three, but all of them are on their feet. Normally, I would take the right side as going around the eating ones is much easier, but I don't want to risk it with the other two with me.)

I move back to the classroom, motion Kohta to wait, pick a random pencil case, stuff it up with clutter, close it and then move back to the door. Then hurl the case at some lockers on the right side. While the noise caused the prone zombies to get up and move to the lockers, it also caused the trio on the left to start moving towards the right corridor as well.

As they shambled past the door, I motioned to Kohta to move out. He gets up from his chair and starts moving, followed by an annoyed, yet silent Saya.

After getting out and stealthily walking to the left, the three of us started moving down the hallway with me in the front, Saya in the middle and Kohta bringing up the rear.

"Kohta, if possible keep a lookout behind us. I don't want us to end up surrounded in the wrong moment." I say to him in a hushed tone.

Kohta gapes at me like a fish before he proceeds to simply nod. Saya just kept quiet.

(Got to get Kohta his gun, he's being way too meek like this.)

"Say Naier, what's with the get up?" I hear Kohta ask.

"The bag, shoes and gloves?" I answer without stopping to look back.

"I had a tight schedule today, I was planning to leave right after school and only return tomorrow morning so I packed for it" I responded without waiting for Kohta's input.

"You're going somewhere?" He asks right after.

"Yea a part-time job" I answered once again.

"You have a job?" Kohta returns with another question.

(God damn it dude, stop being so curious. Now I have to make up even more things on the go.)

"Yep" Then, an idea hit me.

"I was helping a friend of the shop owner we met a couple of days ago, you remember him right?" I answered back, hoping that if the gun range owner came into play, it would make Kohta stop asking questions, as him being there with me yesterday was not very legal. Not that being legal mattered in any way right now. But both of them have yet to realize the weight of the situation from what I see.

(I just hope that this won't come back and bite me in the ass.)

"Ohhhhh I see" Kohta was about to open his mouth again when...

"Will you two shut up already!" Saya butts in, again, with a loud voice.

(Saya, you just got brownie points for this. Even if you were not actually aiming to help here.)

Thankfully Saya's loud voice did not attract anything other than a couple of corpses that were already behind us. So other than the occasional corpse that got wind of us 'somehow' and had to meet the wrong end of my bat, or fall in love with a nearby wall, we moved through the hallways with relative ease.

(What should I do now? I got Saya and Kohta with me, so I could just go straight to the classroom I got the screwdriver from and arm Kohta up. Although that means that he might also run out of ammo sooner... As in the anime he gets his gun at sunset, and we have about an hour before the sky changes color at all.

We could go straight to the faculty room and wait for the rest of the team. With the car and bus keys there, these two will probably agree to go with me if I tell them that I can drive. But then, I won't be sure if the group will meet up at all. Hmm, Saeko and Shizuka, I know they are heading towards that room as well, so all we have to do in order to meet them is wait. That only leaves Rei and Takashi out...

No, no I must make sure Takashi joins up with the group. Bad thoughts, bad Naier, bad.

So, I guess we'll just go get Kohta his gun and then run around until sunset. Worst case, I'll have to let the whole thing with Saya getting attacked and going into shock happen. Although I hope to avoid having her go through with that harrowing experience… Anyway, Takashi was aiming to leave the school with Rei, so we could find him if we keep an eye on the front gate after teaming up with Saeko and Shizuka.)

With thought, I decided that the best next move is to arm Kohta. As right now I'm the only one that's actually doing any fighting, with Saya and Kohta either staying behind me or trying to find a place to hide, from blind corpses. Bad habits die hard I guess.

"We should go to the workshop class, it should have tools and materials that will let us reinforce what we have, or make something better, as I don't know how long this bat will hold if we keep going like this." I say while turning my head back looking at the two.

"There's one on the second floor." Saya speaks up as she pushes her glasses with her middle finger.

"Alright then, second floor for starters." I nod and turn to look forward again.

As we kept moving, I noticed a group of corpses huddled together at the end of the hallway. The sound of moaning, chewing and bones being snapped being audible in the otherwise silent hallway.

(I have three good reasons for why I don't want to go down that way, and one is making my own bones protest.)

I stop abruptly and raise my arm without looking back, my hand in a stop motion. But apparently I was not the only one that was not looking, as Kohta bumped into Saya's back.

"Watch it Fatso!"

Saya's voice rang like an alarm in my head…

"Shit." Was all I managed to say as I saw the whole group of corpses at the far end of the hallway get up.

I then looked behind us, to see that corpses that were following us were also closing in on us as well.

I didn't even have time to be mad at Kohta for not telling me that we were being followed. If we didn't act fast, we would end up surrounded, and there were way too many of them to fight off.

(The stairs are not too far, if we run we can make it there before the group in the front can cut us off.)

"Stairs, now." Is all I say as I start running. Taking the hint, the other two pick up speed and start running behind me.

(Good, we will make it to the stairs before they do, they are too far away.)

Right before we reached the staircase though, I saw a corpse walking out the corner that the stairs were located at, then another, and another. And seconds later, corpses started pouring out of the staircase.

(Are you for real?!)

I stop running and bend my body backwards to balance out the momentum of my sprint, my boots slide across the floor for a bit before finally stopping.

Saya, not being able to stop as fast, ended up being in front of the group now as she stopped a few meters ahead of me. And...We were now surrounded.

"Do something!" Saya shouts without looking back.

(Too many of them to fight, and we can't evade them. Come on think, Think damn it!)

Kohta walked past me and stood next to Saya as he stared at the group of the approaching corpses.

"Why are there so many of them here?" Kohta asked as he kept looking at the now giant group that was slowly making its way to us.

"Instead of asking stupid questions, how about you start thinking of how we can get out of here?!" Saya puts her hands on her hips and turns to Kohta as she shouts. While that was happening, I was looking at what little 'free' space we had left as the corpses closed in from both directions...

My eyes then fell to a classroom door that was a few meters away from the larger group.

(We don't have much of a choice left do we?)

Idea in mind, I start running towards the large group while pointing at the door.

"Door, get to the door next to the large group, now!"

"That's not going to help, idiot! We'll just be trapped in there!" Saya shouts while following me.

"I got a plan." I say as I go to the class door, swing it open and look inside.

(Good, it's empty.)

"Inside, now." I turn to the two.

Saya lets out an annoyed sigh and runs inside, Kohta following behind her shortly after.

"Great, now what genius?" Saya then turns to me, her arms folded.

"...Now you stay quiet." I say as I slam the door shut before they can speak back.

With me still outside.

I looked to my right seeing the large group of shambling corpses was only a couple of meters away from me. The group on my left had fewer corpses and was still further away, but still too many to take head-on in such a closed off space.

They had also shambled past the door of the classroom that was next to the one I just left the other two in, so no dodging them that way. The only thing left between me and them was a corridor of concrete wall and some lockers on one side, and a windowed wall on the other.

(You had to try and act like a badass didn't you? Now, you'll die for it.)

I moved away from the door, where the two were hiding in, backing away from the large group until I was standing in the middle of the two groups.

(Too high to jump out of the window, too many to fight, and one of them will surely get me if I just stand still. I can't use the phone as a distraction either, that would pretty much kill Kohta and Saya by attracting everything here. Not that it matters, no matter where I'll throw the damn thing I'll still have corpses 'behind' me.)

Turning my head I saw that some corpses from the larger group are starting to bang on the door of the classroom that Saya and Kohta were in. The sound of their banging also caused the other corpses to start flocking outside the door.

"Oh for fuck sake!"

I shout as I run to the nearby set of lockers.

And kick them.

"Stay away from that fucking door shit for brains, I'm not fucking dead yet!" I scream as loud as I can while kicking the while I was pretty much committing suicide, I noticed that the lockers kept making small movements after each kick.

(They're not bolted down?)

I ran to the side of the lockers that were closer to the smaller group, grab the edge and put my foot in front of them so it can act as the fulcrum for the lockers, then push them to the right.

It felt like I was watching the lockers topple in slow motion...until. A loud crash.

Loud enough for the corpses that were banging at the door to stop, and turn towards me once again. But, the now toppled lockers gave me an idea.

I look behind me and see the small group that was still closing in on me. I then went behind the next set of lockers while still facing the smaller group, and gave them a strong push, then kept on pushing until they were near the smaller group.

The screeching was actually loud enough to also make some of the corpses that were shambling next to the windows change their direction slightly towards the lockers.

I get in position to topple them over as well.

(I could just go to the other side of the wall and wait until most of them moved towards the lockers...but.)

I stared intensely as the corpses got closer.

(I got a better idea)

Once some of them have gotten close enough, I push the lockers to the left, making them fall over. Crushing a couple of corpses underneath them.

With the bodies under it, the lockers were now about shin-high on my side, and knee/thigh height on the other. After getting on the wobbling lockers, I look at what remained of the small group that was now slowly trying to get on the lockers.

(This could work.)

Bat in hand, I walk forward and take a swing with both hands at the first, and only corpse that managed to get on the lockers.

The corpse takes a spin and falls back, causing two other corpses to get struck under its falling body. Seeing the opening I grab the bat in a reverse grip and start running towards the small opening. Jumping off the lockers and over the corpses that were on the ground. The moment I landed, I eyed the last nearby corpses of the group to my right.

Not wasting time, I took a quick jump forward ,rolling away from its extended hands. Turning back to look at all the chaos after I got back on my feet.

(Ok, let's make sure they leave that door alone.)

Not wanting to take any chances, I head to a distant locker and topple it over as well, making sure that the two groups would wander away from the classroom and the staircase.

After watching them for some seconds and making sure that they had lost interest in the door, I turned around and ran. My face was sporting a shit-eating grin and I was feeling like a total badass, even if I didn't actually smash any heads in.

(My food better still be in one piece after that roll.)

After packing some distance from the group of corpses I spent some time checking the classrooms until I found an empty one, then headed inside so I could get my bearings…

I find a nearby chair, grab it and turn it towards the door before finally sitting on it. Then, I let out a huge sigh.

(Holy crap… I need to stop trying to act cool in front of pretty girls, lest I join the dead before my time.)

After taking a break for a couple of minutes, I start thinking about my current situation.

(So much for teaming up, now I'm by myself again. Still, Kohta and Saya should be fine, and since I gave them the idea about using tools to make or reinforce stuff, I can at least have high hopes that they will go to that classroom and Kohta can go commando mode.)

I then look outside the window.

(The sun is starting to set too. If I remember correctly, in the second episode where the sun was starting to set, the inside of the school's hallways were starting to get flooded with corpses. Meaning it will be much harder for me to move around as time goes by. Now the group stays in the faculty room between episode two and three. But, I don't know for how long they really stay there, as both episodes are during sunset. I could try to go there and meet the whole group along the way.

Also, out of the two, I think at least Kohta will probably be worried about whether I survived or not. So he should at least mention me. Hmm Ok, for now, I should aim for the faculty room. Judging by the color of the sky, the rest of the group should be heading there soon too...)

After taking a needed break, I get up and head to the door, opening it slowly. Looking outside, I could see a couple more corpses shambling about, but nothing I couldn't sidestep over. So, Bat in hand, I exit the class and start heading towards the staircase in order to go on the second floor.

(I should check the class where Saya and Kohta were, doubt they are still there though. But I have to make sure.)

Setting my route so I end up by the staircase near the toppled lockers I start walking down the hallways. Going over the same path I used when I was searching for an empty classroom, I noticed that the corpses around here have increased in number as well.

(I was right about one thing it seems, as time passed, more and more corpses seem to be roaming the hallways. I want to get out of this fricking school… fast.)

Thankfully, I made it to the toppled lockers without finding the hallway clogged with brain munching corpses. The place was empty, with only a couple roaming corpses that seemed to be going off in their own direction. And the ones that ended up under the lockers, as I could see moving feet extending from under it.

I slowly walk past the downed lockers without touching them, not wanting to attract any attention, and make my way to the classroom door, to find it open.

(It has been opened, not broken, that's a good sign.)

Walking inside, I find it empty.

(No bodies, at least they didn't get killed here, meaning my diversion worked at least.)

I then looked outside, to see that the sky had started to take a heavy shade of yellow.

(Alright, let's head to the faculty room.)

I exit the class and head down the stairs to the second floor, heading towards my next destination.

The hallways of the second floor were in worse condition than the third, more guts, more blood, more corpses, more of everything really.

I move away from the staircase looking at the hallway in both directions.

(Not good… too many of them, I will have to go up and...)

I was about to move, when I heard a female scream coming out from the left hallway.

(That was Saya?...)

Reacting to the sound, a bunch of the corpses on the right hallway started going towards the left. In other words, towards me.

(Crap, I'm getting surrounded here, as much as I want to help, I got to head back up.)

I turn around and start running up the stairs. And almost ran into another student who was running down the stairs.

"WHOA! Too many of them!" The student exclamate with a loud voice.

"Yes and now you just attracted their attention, back up the stairs. Now." I say, as I run past the frozen student, a pair of running footsteps following behind me soon after...

I was wondering who the kid was as I ran up the stairs, I didn't seem to recall seeing him in the anime or manga. And, I found out the reason why once I reached the third floor once more.

A tall man was standing there. Striped suit, glasses and a face I instantly wanted to cave in.

(Shido.)

The sudden urge to just lunge at the guy right now, was pretty high. Knowing that he'll be responsible for a bunch of avoidable deaths , possibly including Saya's parents...It honestly made the prospect of destroying his knees, really tempting.

"Sir, there are too many of them downstairs, we can't go that way." The student who was running behind me finally climbed up the stairs and spoke up.

"I see. And, who might you be?" Shido turns his oily stare to me.

"Naier Sepfier." I was trying my best to not let my voice give away what I really wanted to do right now. Even if Shido is a bastard, which he undoubtedly is. If I attack him here, there will be multiple problems for me.

First being that all the students here will probably come after me. To them, Shido is helping them stay alive.

The second, and most important one, is that if Shido doesn't make it to the bus, then the main cast will not leave the bus later. Meaning they won't get to Rika's house, so they won't get the guns and Humvee. And let me tell you, finding guns with actual stomping power in Japan, is like looking for Mew in Pokemon Yellow. Jokes aside, worst of all is that they might end up getting stuck in that giant traffic jam that will attract a whole battalion of corpses during the night.

"I see. You're the transfer student, I am Koichi Shido homeroom teacher of 3-A. You were quite fortunate to run into us, seeing as you are all by yourself" Shido smiles at me with his usual shit-eating grin plastered on his face.

(Fortunate, my ass.)

"Yes, surviving alone in a situation like this was not easy. Also, we should leave soon, the ones from the floor below us are climbing up the stairs as well." I answer as I walk away from the teacher, checking the two hallways to our left and right.

The right one was pretty much clogged, no way to go over there, so the only way to go was left.

"With the lower floor blocked we will have to find some other way. Come on everybody we will have to find another way out of the school." All the students gave a unified 'Yes sir' and followed Shido, who started going towards the left hallway.

Having no other options, I follow behind the group.

(God, I can't believe I'm stuck with this lunatic while The Group gets together right under me.)

"Hey, did you really survive all this time by yourself?" I turn my head to the voice to see the student I bumped into some minutes ago downstairs talking to me.

"Yes, and no. I was with two other people, Kohta Hirano and Saya Takagi, but we got separated." I answered back at the student who was walking next to me.

And then, I heard a snicker from the front part of the group.

"That fat ass? Ha, I'm surprised he's still alive, figured he would be the first one to die since he's like a patty with legs. But hey, he can probably become one hell of a bait, these things will be eating, for days" It was none other than Tsunoda who had opened his mouth. Several other male students next to him started snickering to his statement, his 'bros' if I had to guess.

Shido was doing nothing to stop him, obviously.

"Maybe you all should shut it for a bit, noise attracts them and right now you're all sounding like screaming donkeys"

In retrospect, that was a bad idea. I knew it was a bad idea. The whole planet knew it was a bad idea. But, I just couldn't resist...

My comment was followed by a sudden silence, the blond-haired guy turned to me, veins popping on his forehead.

"The fuck did you call me!?" He shouted, slamming his feet to the ground as he stomped towards me. Tsunoda got close enough to be in strike range, and apparently prepared to throw a punch towards my face.

(I should have said gorillas...)

I was about to take a stance so I could bring his face into a nearby wall the moment he tried to punch me. Yet instead of punching me, he punched the guy that was walking right next to me...

"Take this as a warning, funny guy. Next time, it will be you." Tsunoda glances at me, his scowl turning into a shit-eating grin as he turns around. Walking back to 'his' group like he just did the deed of the century.

(The hell?)

I turned to the guy that met the wrong end of Tsunoda's hand, his own hand now over his bleeding nose.

"Oi, Are you ok?" I ask as I extend my arm.

"No" Barks the student as he gets back up, slapping my arm away before walking away.

(Shitface is trying to make me an outcast? Good going Tsunoda, you just got a vip spot in my shit list, right next to your teacher)

"Now let's not start infighting everybody, we need to stay together" Was all Shido said for the whole situation...

And after the little 'show', I was left walking by myself.

"There should be a second staircase here." After a couple of minutes, Shido spoke up.

Reaching the stairs he mentioned, I could see Shido turning to talk with Tsunoda.

"I will go check the stairs, can't let a wimp do a man's job" Tsunoda speaks up with a nod, and moves towards the stairs. His face turning into a grin as he gave me a quick glance.

Ignoring the provocation, I looked behind us to see the corpses that were slowly closing in on us, attracted by the group's idle chatter.

Tsunoda comes back after a bit, giving the all-clear, and the students start going down the stairs one by one.

While that was happening, I turned towards the guy who took the punch for me.

(I suppose he's not thinking straight after getting punched out of the blue, but is that guy crazy? Leaning against a closed door like that?)

"Hey man, you better get away from that door, you don't know what's on the other side."

"Piss off." The student hisses in a low voice.

"Look, just get away from the door." I responded to the guy who was now glaring at me.

"I said. Piss Off!" The guy now started shouting.

"I got punched in the face because of you! Why don't you mess up somebody else's life!" And He keeps on shouting.

"Just get away from that door, I think I see a shadow looming behind the glass." I answer to the guy in a cautious tone, trying to calm him down.

Yet...it did the complete opposite.

"Will you shut it! Door this, Door that! There is nothing behind this fucking door!" The student keeps shouting as he flings the door open in a blind rage.

Before I was even able to react, the shadow I mentioned lunged out. It grabbed the student and forced him on the ground. The guy's screams of anger quickly turned into screams of panic.

I acted as fast as I could, dropping my bat and taking out the screwdriver, stabbing the side of the corpse's head. But, I was too late.

I could see blood flowing under the student… and it was not from the corpse. He was bit.

I just stayed there on one knee, over the student while he was looking at me, tears appearing in his eyes...

I should have realized what was going to happen next. With Tsunoda making me look like an apparent passive wimp and Shido probably thinking I was not worth being in his little herd because of that.

But, being focused on the dying student in front of me, I didn't even notice that my bat was not where I dropped it. I only realized something was terribly wrong as I felt a sharp pain in the back of my head, my whole body falling forward on top of the bleeding student.

My vision went blurry for a few seconds.

Shaking my head and opening my eyes to look straight ahead, I see a pair of bloody shoeless feet closing in on me, and the fallen student who was now just whimpering under me.

Turning my head around, my vision still slightly blurry, I see Shido dropping my bat and casually walking away.

(Shido...Shido you fucking good for nothing!...I'm going to fucking KILL YOU!)

Rage starts to heat up my head, I quickly pull myself on my knees and try to get up. Only to feel something holding my sleeve, looking down, I see the dying student looking at me.

"Man please, I didn't mean it, please. Don't leave me here, I don't want to die like this, don't want to. Please." He was stumbling on his words, blood was starting to come out from his mouth mixing with the tears that were running down his cheeks.

Seeing the student like that, made me snap out of my rage. I couldn't bring myself to leave him alone while he was looking like that. With the screwdriver still in hand, I grab the student by the collar, then take his arm and then yank him up.

"Thank…" His bloody smile after I helped him up, was short-lived however. As that pair of feet that I saw some moments ago were now beyond close. Before he could even manage to thank me, another corpse grabbed him from behind, biting him on the back of his neck while pushing him forward on to me. And, he started to scream again.

Being in an awkward position after lifting the student up, I didn't manage to dodge the now falling student as the weight of two bodies fell on me. And I ended up on the ground with two bodies on top of me, only managing to put an arm between me and the student.

After hitting the floor, I heard the student's neck bones snap. I used my screwdriver to stab the head that had embedded it's teeth at the back of the student's neck. Looking at the student, I saw that he was no longer moving, screaming, or crying. Only his blood was now dripping on my face. He was dead.

I started panicking, realizing that he would soon be 'waking' up with me right under him. Add along the corpses that were still closing in.

I grabbed the head of the second corpse that had its teeth still embedded on the late student's neck and pulled the screwdriver from its head, right as the student started to twitch.

Among the twitching student on top of me, the approaching corpses, and my own mental state...

"Aaaarrrhh! I am NOT dying here! NOT like this!"

I started screaming while stabbing the students head, pushing the two bodies away from me until I could put my foot between the bodies. Getting them off me with a kick while taking the screwdriver out of the dead students head in the process of freeing my trapped body.

I quickly roll away from the oncoming corpses using the momentum of my kick. I finish the backwards roll on my feet, stand up and run to my bat, grabbing it with my free hand. Then with a glance at the window, I see Takashi and the rest of his team getting on the bus.

The mere idea that I was going to be left behind because I was done in by Shido made my blood boil even more. I quickly put the screwdriver back in the side pocket of my bag and started jumping down the stairs until I was on the first floor.

Ignoring the corpses that infested the hallways, I just bolted through them. Whatever arm reached for me either found air, or didn't manage to get a grip on me.

While on the first floor, running through the hallway that linked to the exit, I looked through the windows and saw Shido casually walking towards the bus.

As I was nearing the exit, I was still going at full speed. Not having time to stop I used a corpse that had its back turned to me as a break. Smashing into it so that I could come to a stop, and allow me to change the direction of my sprint towards the exit.

The moment I saw the bus, the world around me blurred, the only thing I could see was the bus with Shido still a couple of meters away from the door.

I bend my body, grab my bat in reverse grip and break into a dead run, my feet stomping on the ground. The sound of moaning did not even reach my ears as I passed the corpses that turned their attention to me.

As I kept sprinting across the field I saw Shido slowly extending his arm towards the bus.

Realizing that he was about to get on the bus, and that they were going to leave without me...

(No, Not gonna happen. I will not be left behind because of that fucking bastard!)

Still sprinting, I take a deep breath and bellow out.

"MOOOVEEE!"

My shout made the people in the bus turn their heads towards me. I would really like to see the expressions on certain people right now, but I was focused on my main target right now, Shido.

In all honesty, what I actually hoped for was for Shido to actually not 'move it' at all. What I hoped for, is that my shout would distract everybody in the bus so I could close in.

And well… I long since decided that I would not be stopping normally.

Shido, hearing my shout turned his face with a smirk, that quickly disappeared once he saw me, his face turning pale.

I could see the uproar on the bus. But the important part was, the plan worked. Shido was just standing there like an idiot. And the few seconds he failed to react was enough for me to reach the bus.

I jumped in, crashing right into Shidos lower abdomen, making him plummet backwards on the metal stairs and falling unconscious.

While that was definitely not enough to kill him, it did feel great to get back at the bastard.

Shaking my head, I look around me before getting up. I then toss my bat on an empty seat next to me before closing the bus door.

In the meantime, I heard Takashi shout.

"Miss Shizuka, Drive!"

Shizuka, who was just staring along with everybody else, snaps out of it and stomps on the pedal. I could hear her mumbling to herself as she went ham on the corpses in the school field, until she finally busted through the front door.

I was still standing on top of Shido while the bus was shaking, thinking of what to do.

(I could just start swinging at his face, bastard deserves it. But that would probably make the rest of the bus freak out on me, Rei excluded. They're probably already on edge with me after my entrance, so I shouldn't go all Hanibal on Shido...yet.)

While I was deep in thought I saw Shido waking up, his eyes slowly focusing on me as I was standing over him.

"My apologies Sir Shido, did not see you there. My vision was kinda blurry as something hit me on the back of my head some time ago" I say with a deadpan look on my face.

"I...it's alright, what is important is that you are safe. It is a teacher's job to keep you students safe after all." His face was still pale as he said that, rolls of sweat rolling down his forehead. He knew that I saw him.

He slowly got up. Straightening his suit before limping to the back of the school bus. And, he immediately started whispering to his little flock.

(The guy is already scheming? Damn, he bounces back fast. Whatever, I regret nothing and I'm feeling much better now.)

I walk towards the chair with my bat and leave my bag on it.

"Naier?" Hearing my name, I turn my head around. Following the direction of the sound I see Kohta, who was sitting on an outside seat, with Saya sitting next to him, staring outside.

"Hey. Told you I had a plan."

Saya turns her head to my statement shifting her eyes towards me as she opens her mouth.

(Oh god, even after I saved her ass she is going to dish me out?)

Yet, she said nothing. She just stared at me for a couple of seconds, before quickly turning her head back towards the window.

(That, was weird. )

I shrug and turn my attention back to Kohta.

"You're...ok?" He asks me with a worried expression.

"Uhh, I'm fine. Is there something on my face?" I start lightly patting my face before turning my head towards the rest of the group. Yet, everybody was just staring at me. Rei, Takashi, Saeko and even the students that were with Shido, although their expressions looked a bit more...fearful.

Standing there for a few seconds, and seeing that the expressions did not change, I pulled my phone out of my pocket. Opened it and used the front facing camera to look at my face on the screen.

Seeing my reflection, I realize why Shido's groupies looked like they're about to piss their pants.

All of my face is covered in blood and my clothes look like I just had a wrestling match with a bear, and lost.

(Well, I look like total shit.)

"Well, uhh."

I turn my head away from the phone and look around at the group.

"Is there a chance any of you got a wet handkerchief? I think I might have some blood on my face."


End file.
